


Golden Hour

by horsesauce



Category: Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Alice is a good bro, Attempt at Humor, Author uses too many em dashes, Autistic Bella Swan, Autistic Original Character, Awesome Charlie Swan, BAMF Bella Swan, Bella Swan Has a Twin, Bella Swan with a Backbone, Bella is Bad at Socializing, Book 1, Bullying, Canon - Book, Charlie Swan is a Good Dad, Courting Rituals, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Dorks in Love, Edward Cullen Being An Asshole, Emmett is a good bro, F/M, Fluff and Humor, God of War (Twilight), God of War!Jasper, Good Parent Charlie Swan, Historical Accuracy, Historical Dress, Human/Vampire Relationship, Humor, I'M autistic and i can do what i WANT, Implied/Referenced Sex, Inconsistent Verb Tenses, Jasper Has a Texas Accent, Jasper is a Sweetheart, Knitting, LIKE REALLY ROMANTIC, Multi, Multiple Personalities, Not Beta Read, OC dresses weird, OC is a bamf, Obsessive Jasper Hale, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Overuse of the Word "Golden", POV Alternating, POV Third Person, Peter Knows Shit, Possessive Jasper Hale, Pride and Prejudice References, References to Jane Austen, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Rosalie Hale is a Good Bro, Sappy, Self-Indulgent, Self-Insert, Sewing, Sort of? - Freeform, Soulmates, Textiles - Freeform, The Author Regrets Nothing, True Love, True Mates, Twilight Renaissance, Vampires That Purr, again this is REALLY self indulgent, alice also eventually gets a wife but not in this book i don't think, alice is a lesbian, an attempt anyway, and yes it has healing properties like cats. because fuck you, autistic representation, because fuck you, because i can only write romance not plot, bella will throw hands for her sister and you can quote me on that, but we knew that already, canon plot, closet sweetheart!!!, correction to the tag above: guin is horny and makes innuendos more than dirty jokes, courting, fated love, guin is 100 percent here for it don’t worry it’s all consensual, guin is horny and makes dirty jokes, guys i literally can NOT stress how disgustingly sappy this is, have i really not added that tag yet?, he's got big ole hearteyes for her, her and jasper were never romantically inclined, i mean extremely, its minor but its also CORRECT because i am texan and i know how we talk, jasper fucking adores oc, just a tad, non canon vampire biology, oc gets bullied, oc is two steps away from being a self insert, oc likes historical costuming + dresses similarly, oc stims, probably no smut but don’t quote me on that, protective jasper hale, renee is questionable, she likes oc, she means well!! and has good intentions!! she’s just Bad at it, talk shit get hit, that’s jasper’s motto
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:34:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 27,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23604640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/horsesauce/pseuds/horsesauce
Summary: Guinevere Swan is weird.And not like, the fun, wacky kind of weird, more like the "mercilessly bullied for most of her childhood" kind of weird.After a lifetime of suffering in the heat, sun, and crowds of Phoenix, Arizona, she finally manages to get her twin sister (and only friend) on board with moving back to the Pacific Northwest to live with their father, in the tiny town of Forks, Washington.Guin planned on spending her last year of high school working on her portfolio, watching far too many period dramas, and hoping that people wouldn't laugh at her too much.What Guindidn'tplan on was a strange boy with golden eyes-- who didn't think she was strange at all.Actually, he kind of likes her?
Relationships: Carlisle Cullen/Esme Cullen, Edward Cullen/Bella Swan, Emmett Cullen/Rosalie Hale, Jasper Hale/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 92
Kudos: 543
Collections: A Collection of Beloved Inserts, R's Twilight, fics that were so good i didn't finish my homework





	1. Preface

# Preface

_Guinevere had never given much thought to how she would die._

Although, she supposes, that side-by-side with her twin made enough sense. They had done everything together-- come into this world together, grew up together, faced down bullies and failed tests and all the horrors of puberty together. It only made sense they'd leave this world together, too.

If it weren't for her twin, Guinevere wouldn't be here right now-- although, if it weren't for her twin, Guinevere wouldn't have met _him,_ either. And Guin would never pass on knowing him, and loving him, and knowing how it feels to _be loved by_ him.

And so, Guinevere stared down the hunter.

She would not be swayed.


	2. First Sight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, friends!
> 
> welcome to golden hour, a twilight story
> 
> i have Zero Idea what i'm doing! this was written extremely spur of the moment -- all i wanted to do was set up some fun tags for a jasper/ofc story, only to find out that ao3 only saves drafts for a month. i was like "well. i can either screenshot this, or publish it"
> 
> i decided to publish it!
> 
> this is extremely self indulgent -- i ran out of fic to read for this kind of pairing and wanted to do a fic that _i_ would like, where the main character was more like me than most other original characters.
> 
> guinevere is weird and stimmy and openly autistic and jasper loves her all the more for it and thats how i LIKE IT!
> 
> this is going to be relatively lighthearted -- it'll follow the main twilight storyline, but i'm not huge on unnecessary angst, and i've never felt like jasper would be edgy like edward
> 
> i can't promise chapters will come quickly, or at all, but i'm going to do my best to finish this out. my chapters are going to be ~about the same length as book chapters, but once we hit stuff where i don't have canon for a reference, it might get a little wonky. expect ~5k a chapter
> 
> this chapter is ~9k words, and because i can't do slowburn, we get to meet jasper in this chapter!! i hope you all love the gross, sappy, romantic self indulgent shit going down because i like it
> 
> please enjoy this chapter, and feel free to leave a review! this isn't beta read with any seriousness, so please be kind in your comments, i am Very Fragile and don't usually publish what i write
> 
> much love to you all!! <3
> 
> also, much sorry if there are typos/inconsistencies － i wrote and edited this while sleepy!

* * *

**Golden Hour**  
_The period of daytime shortly before sunset,  
during which sunlight is redder and softer than during daylight_

* * *

Guinevere was giddy, excitement bubbling in her stomach like sweet, golden champagne.

The windows in her mom's car were rolled down, warm wind blowing in and snapping her hair around her face, flushing across her skin and turning it pink. It was seventy-five degrees out, a temperature that, while Guin considered just a little too warm for her liking, was nice for Phoenix, Arizona.

Her sister, Bella, was sitting next to her. Bella was ivory skinned, like Guin, but taller and slimmer. Guin had a stockier build－ shorter, with more curves and softness to her. Bella's hair was long, straight and brown, different from Guin's own curly locks, although the color was the same. They shared the same eyes, though－ dark brown and soft, with long, dark lashes.

Bella was her twin, and despite their differences, Guin had never loved another person like she did Bella. Bella, who was her first － and only － real friend, had always been by her side. The two of them understood each other, in a way that most other people didn't.

They were on the same wavelengths, even if it was only with each other.

Bella was dressed in a sleeveless, white eyelet lace shirt－ a goodbye to the warm weather of Phoenix. Guinevere, who had never liked to show too much skin, was wearing a long-sleeved maroon button up with a long black skirt. She was often told she dressed strangely, and that was quite how she liked it, thank you very much.

The two girls were on their way to Phoenix International Airport, with two tickets booked for Seattle.

Their mother had recently gotten remarried to a man named Phil. He was a minor league baseball player－good enough, Guin supposed, to make a living, but not good enough to really achieve anything. Despite his lackluster baseball skills, Phil was a good man, and he would take care of their mother.

Guin and Bella had decided, together, that the two of them would leave their mother and go spend the rest of their school years in Forks, Washington, with their father, Charlie.

This was a decision Bella made with great distress.

It was one Guin couldn't wait for.

Guin had always preferred Forks－ tiny, yes, but full of good people and cool, rainy weather. Forks was full of trees and life, and cool, clean air. It was a place where Guin could be herself, and dress how she wanted without worrying about heatstroke.

Overcome with her giddy excitement, Guin found herself tap, tap, tapping her finger on her thigh. It was the most that she could do, with her mother around－ Renee had always pushed her to be less obvious, less strange, more normal. Renee loved her, of course, but never all of her. 

Bella had never minded. Never minded the hand flapping, the rocking, the dancing and clicking and info-dumping and all of the things that came with Guin being who she is.

Of course, Bella was her twin － like her in so many ways. Everything was different with Bella.

“Bella, Guin,” Renée said, looking at the two girls standing before her, their hands intertwined. “You don’t have to do this.”

Guin spoke up first. “We _want_ to go, mom. Honest.”

Bella only nodded beside her－ she had never been a good liar, and while she had improved immensely over the past few weeks, Guin knew that it would be easiest if she were the one to assure their mom.

“Tell Charlie I said hi.”

“We will.”

“I’ll see you soon,” she insisted. “You can come home whenever you want － I’ll come back right as soon as you need me.”

That would be a sacrifice, Guin knew. Besides－ she was determined that her and Bella would be happy in Forks, even if it was done purely by spite.

“Don’t worry about us,” Bella urged. “It’ll be great. I love you, Mom.”

Guin sent Renée a smile. “I love you too, Mom. We’ll be fine, I’m sure of it.”

She hugged the two girls tightly, and then they were on the plane, and she was gone.

* * *

It’s a four-hour flight from Phoenix to Seattle, and another hour in a small plane up to Port Angeles, and then an hour drive back down to Forks.

The flying wasn’t an issue for either girl, although the hour in the car with their father could pose some problems.

Guin was much closer with her father than Bella was － she still spent a month in Forks every summer after her and Bella vacationed with Charlie in California.

He had been very nice about the whole thing － Guin knew that he was genuinely happy to have his girls staying with him for the first time with any degree of permanence. He’d already registered the girls for school, and had plans for helping them get a car.

When they landed in Port Angeles, it was raining. Guin knew Bella didn’t enjoy it, but Guin felt a thrill rush through her. The excitement that had faded some over the plane flights suddenly rushed through her again, and she shook one hand out, flexing her fingers.

Not quite a hand flap, but close. A giddy smile crossed her face.

Her excitement grew as she spotted their father and his police cruiser. Charlie was Forks’ Police Chief, and while she knew Bella thought it was embarrassing, Guin had always liked it. Although, neither she nor Bella appreciated how traffic had a tendency to slow around him.

“Daddy!” Guin cried, flinging herself into her father’s arms as soon as she was close enough and squeezing tightly. Charlie returned the gesture enthusiastically.

“Gwinny! It’s good to see you! And you too, of course, Bells,” he says, smiling as he reaches one hand out to steady her when she stumbled. “You haven’t changed much, either of you. How’s Renée?”  
“Mom’s good. It’s good to see you, too, Dad.” Bella said, although there was a moment of hesitation before she said “Dad”. Guin sent her a sharp look.

_You can’t go around calling him Charlie, Bella._

Both girls only had a few bags, although not for the same reasons. Bella didn’t have many clothes fit for Washington, and Guin had decided to ship things to Forks, rather than try to figure out what was most important. Still, all of their things fit easily into the trunk of the cruiser.

“I found a good car for you, really cheap,” he announced when the three of them were strapped in.

Bella was immediately suspicious. “What kind of car?”

Guin couldn’t blame her too much － the way Charlie had said “good car for you” _was_ a bit suspicious.

“Well, it’s a truck actually. A Chevy.”

“Where did you find it?”

“Do you remember Billy Black down at La Push?”

La Push is the tiny Indian reservation on the coast. Guin knew them well. The two girls answered at the same time.

“No.”

“Yes.”

Guin sent Bella a sharp look, and repeated once more, rather forcefully, “Yes. He used to go fishing with us during the summer, _Bella._ ”

“Oh, right.” Bella didn’t sound like she remembered at all, and Guin made a face.

“Well, he’s in a wheelchair now,” Charlie continued, “so he can’t drive anymore. He offered to sell me his truck cheap.”

“What year is it?” Guin sent Bella another sharp look, and Bella looked at her as if to say, _it’s a fair question!_

“Well, Billy’s done a lot of work on the engine － it’s only a few years old, really.”

Of course, Bella couldn’t just let it lie. “When did he buy it?”

“He bought it in 1984, I think.”

“Did he buy it new?”

“Well, no. I think it was new in the early sixties － or late fifties, at the earliest.”

“Ch －” at Guin’s dark glare, Bella quickly corrected herself, “Dad, I don’t really know anything about cars. I wouldn’t be able to fix it if anything went wrong, and I couldn’t afford a mechanic…”

“Really, Bella, the thing runs great. They don’t build them like that anymore.”

Guin watched Bella’s brow furrow a bit, before she asked the real question on her mind. “How cheap is cheap?”

Guin grimaced a bit. Even _she_ knew that it was rude to ask stuff like that, and Guin was a champion of putting her foot in her mouth.

“Well, honey, I kind of already bought it for you. As a homecoming gift.” Charlie glanced over at Bella, looking hopeful, and she looked a little surprised.

“You didn’t need to do that, Dad. I was going to buy myself a car.”

“I don’t mind. I want you two to be happy here,” he said, as he stared ahead at the road. Guin smiled a little － her dad and her twin really were alike.

Bella looked straight ahead when she answered. “That’s really nice, Dad. Thanks. I really appreciate it.”

“ _We_ really appreciate it. Thank you, Daddy.”

“Well now, you’re welcome,” he mumbled, embarrassed by the thanks.

Bella and Charlie tried to start a conversation, wherein Bella commented on the weather (which was wet), and then couldn’t seem to think of anything else.

Guin jumped in, excited to tell Charlie about her newest project － a mid-19th century chemise and drawers, for an 1860s gown she was planning. Charlie seemed to welcome the distraction.

Eventually, they made it to Charlie’s. He still lived in the three-bedroom house that he’d bought with Renee in the early days of their marriage. Parked on the street in front of the house that never changed was the girls’ new － ish － truck.

It was a faded red color, with big, rounded fenders and a bulbous cab, one of those solid iron kinds of trucks. A fortress on wheels. Guin knew immediately that Bella would love it.

“Wow, Dad, I love it! Thanks!” Bella exclaimed, and Guin grinned. She was right.

“I’m glad you like it,” Charlie said gruffly, embarrassed.

“It’s really great, Daddy. Excellent choice.” Guin praised, and Bella smiled back at her.

It didn’t take long to get their things upstairs － Bella took the west bedroom, the one that faced the front yard, and Guin got the one that faced east, towards the back yard and the forest beyond.

The room had been hers for a long time － ever since Grandpa Swan passed and her and Bella grew out of sharing a room. It was where she had spent all of her summers up to now, and it was a place she very much loved.

The walls were cream colored, freshly painted just last summer. Her bed, a queen, was covered with a baby pink duvet and a white crocheted blanket, made by her late grandmother. It had a pink sheer canopy hanging from the ceiling, a project she and Charlie had done a few summers before together.

A wardrobe made of dark wood and a matching desk with a laptop were on the far wall, while a large shelf of cubbies was on the wall next to the door, partially filled with fabric, yarn, and sewing supplies. A dress form sat beside it. Sitting beside the window, covered with pink lace curtains, was an old rocking chair, a quilt thrown over the back － a match for one Bella had in her room. There were a few boxes set on the floor of the room, having arrived before she did.

At the foot of her bed was an old wooden chest, filled with costumes and probably more sewing supplies, more blankets folded on top. Guin suffered from Chronic-Always-Cold-Disease, and thus, had a hoard of blankets in her room.

The room was comforting when Guin stepped inside, and she smiled to herself as she dropped her bags on the floor. She moved across the room, pushing the window open to let in the chilly breeze.

 _Now,_ she thought to herself, _time to unpack, and get a move on._

* * *

A few hours later, Guin had all of her bags and boxes unboxed and unpacked and organized neatly. Clothes were hung up in the wardrobe, fabric and sewing supplies folded neatly and stacked in their respective cubbies. Her bag for school the next day was packed, sitting beside her desk, and an outfit had been chosen － a red tartan walking skirt based on the late 1890s, a simple, white button up blouse, with a red cardigan and her favorite long, tailored winter jacket made of thick black wool and a silk lining, with a vintage fur collar.

Guin knew quite well that she dressed weird － it had been a fixation of many of her childhood bullies. She made most of her own clothes simply because she could never find anything she liked that was modern. Guin had also spent too long trying to pretend to be something she wasn’t. She was over that now － if someone didn’t like her, then that was their problem, not hers.

She wasn’t sure how the students at Forks High School would receive her, though. Forks High had a total of three hundred and fifty-seven － fifty-nine, now － students. Less students hopefully meant less people to tease her, but what did she know? She had never been very good at predicting what other people would do.

Laying in bed, Guin watched the clock on the wall tick, tick, tick the minutes away, one hand tapping incessantly on her hip bone. She wondered what it would be like, to be at Forks High.

She wondered if she’d make any friends.

That night, after her and Bella and Charlie had eaten (a somewhat awkward) dinner, she stopped in to take a shower in her and Bella’s shared bathroom before bed. Guin turned the water on hot － not quite burning, but hot enough to flood her limbs with warmth.

When she was done and sitting on her bed, dressed in an old t-shirt and shorts, she let her mind wander. Her fingers were plaiting her hair securely, to keep it out of her face and to help minimize frizziness the next morning, but all she could think of was the anxiety beating at her.

Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.

Everything would change tomorrow, she just knew it.

* * *

Guin woke up early the next morning. The rain had stopped, but thick, heavy fog had replaced it, and she found herself staring out the window into the mist, blankets wrapped up to her shoulders. The still open window let in a cool, damp breeze, and she spent several moments enjoying the warmth of her blankets before she had to get up for the day.

Finally, Guin pushed herself out of bed, pushing the loose fly-away hairs out of her face. She got dressed, slowly － she had time. Stockings and undergarments, followed by her blouse and then her skirt. Pausing to unbraid her hair and run her fingers through it to try and smooth it out some, she quickly re-braided it, tying the end with a red ribbon to match her skirt. Tossing the braid over her shoulder, she grabbed her bag, jacket, earmuffs, and her vintage-inspired Edwardian oxfords, the cherry-leather ones with the small heel.

She padded downstairs, dropping her bag at the table with her jacket, shoes, and earmuffs, and smiled at her dad, who was puttering in the kitchen. Charlie smiled back at her.

“You’re up early, kiddo.”

“I went to bed really early. Could you put the kettle on, please?”

Charlie hummed an affirmative, filling their kettle with water and putting it on the stove to warm. Guin grabbed a few slices of bread and popped them into the toaster, grabbing butter, milk, and jam from the fridge.

Standing on her toes, she reached up to grab her favorite mug from one of the cabinets, sending Charlie a playful glare when he laughs at her struggles. “Stop! You can’t laugh at short people － that’s totally not fair.”

Charlie just laughed again, taking a sip of his coffee.

A few minutes later, Bella came down the stairs, dressed and ready to go. Guin waved at her, taking a sip of her tea. The three ate in silence, and Charlie wished the two girls good luck at school.

Guin thanked him, and she knew her thanks was more sincere than Bella’s. Her sister had a tendency to end up with the worst luck.

After Charlie left, the two girls sat quietly at the table in the kitchen, Guin sipping at her tea while Bella looked around the house. It hadn’t changed much － the same dark paneled walls, bright yellow cabinets, and white linoleum floor as years past. In the family room, over the small fireplace, was a row of pictures. A wedding picture of Charlie and Renee in Vegas, then one of the four of them in the hospital after the girls were born － Bella, held in Renee’s arms, and Guin in Charlie’s. Those were followed by more pictures － school photos of Bella and Guin, photos of them fishing and on vacations, and photos of Guin in a variety of the costumes she had made.

Guin had always loved the photos on the mantle. Some were embarrassing, yes, but they told her that Charlie loved his daughters, and she treasured that.

“Are you ready to go?” Bella blurted suddenly, startling Guin from her thoughts. When she glanced over, Guin could see the distress on her twin’s face, and she knew what Bella was thinking.

Their dad still loved their mom, and this house was proof.

Guin stood up, downing the rest of her tea, before throwing away the tea bag and washing out her mug. “Sure, Bells. Let me brush my teeth and put on my shoes. I can meet you in the truck?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Guin started up the stairs, pausing to watch Bella pull on her parka. Guin’s lips twitched into a smothered smile.

Bella looked like a marshmallow.

* * *

Once Guin had joined Bella in their truck － teeth brushed and shoes on, her jacket wrapped around herself and earmuffs warming her ears － she smiled at her sister.

Bella sent her a wobbly smile in return, before starting up the truck. Much to Guin’s pleasure, the radio worked. She fiddled with it, trying to find a good station as Bella drove to school.

Forks High wasn’t difficult to find. Like most things, it was just off the highway. It didn’t look much like a school, though － just a collection of matching houses, built with maroon-colored bricks, surrounded by trees and shrubs, all green, green, green.

Bella parked outside of the first building, labelled FRONT OFFICE, and Guin unbuckled her seatbelt. She was the first to leave the cab of the truck, Bella following unwillingly behind her and into the building.

Inside, it was brightly lit and warm. The office itself was small; a little waiting area with padded folding chairs, orange-flecked commercial carpet, notices and awards cluttering the walls. A big clock was ticking loudly, hung up on the wall. Plants grew everywhere in plastic pots, and Guin smiled, running her finger along the leaf of one as Bella walked up to the long counter that cut the room in half.

The counter was cluttered with wire baskets, all full of papers, and brightly colored flyers were taped to its front. Three desks sat behind the counter, one of which was filled by a large, red-haired woman wearing glasses.

The woman looked up. “Can I help you?”

“I’m Isabella Swan, and this is my sister, Guinevere,” Bella said, immediately. The woman’s eyes lit up, like she had been expecting them, and she nodded once. The fact that Guin and Bella were topics of gossip was not surprising in the least. Guin had expected it, in fact.

“Of course,” she said, and began to dig through a precariously stacked pile of documents on her desk. She seemed to find what she was looking for, as she brought over several sheets of paper. “I have your schedules right here, and maps of the school.”

The woman went through the girls’ classes － different schedules, something Guin hadn’t been expecting － and marked the best routes to get to each of them on the map. Then, she gave each girl a slip to have their teacher’s sign and bring back at the end of the day. Offering them a smile and a “Have a good day!”, the two girls returned back outside into the drizzle.

By the time they returned to their truck, other students were starting to arrive. Bella drove them around the school, following the line of traffic, while Guin watched the other cars and students.

Most of the cars in the parking lot were older, nothing especially flashy － so very different from their school in Phoenix, with its shiny Mercedes and Porsches filling the parking lot. The nicest car here was a shiny Volvo, one that caught Guin’s eye. It was strangely clean, for a car in a place as muddy as Forks.

As soon as Bella pulled into a spot, she cut the engine, and she and Guin both looked down at their maps. Bella, she knew, would be memorizing the map now － wanting to avoid having to walk around all day with her nose stuck in it. Guin knew she was a lost cause. Her sense of direction had never been particularly good.

Guin sent Bella a smile. “Ready?”

“Not in the least.”

“Don’t worry, I don’t think they bite.”

Bella snorted softly, and shoved her things into her bag. Guin sent her a grin, and the two of them left the truck. Bella had pulled her hood up, and Guin settled her earmuffs on her ears once again.

Normally, Guin would walk with Bella, their arms looped together. Today, she refrained, lingering a few steps away － people would stare at her more than usual, and she knew Bella hated the stares.

Much to her pleasure, Bella reached out and looped their arms together. “You’re walking too far away,” she mumbled.

“I thought you wouldn’t want to be stared at.”

“It’s going to happen anyway, and I’d rather be with you than alone.”

Guin smiled, and the two girls began making their way to their first class, English. Building three was easy to find, once you got around the cafeteria. A large black “3” was painted on a white square on the east corner.

Guin could feel Bella beginning to hyperventilate, and she squeezed her sister’s arm. She spoke in a murmur. “You’re alright, Bells. We’ll be fine, yeah?”

“Yeah.” She didn’t sound convinced.

The inside of the classroom was small. The two people who entered before Guin － two girls, she noticed － stopped just inside the door to hang up their coats on a long row of hooks. Bella copied them. Guin, after a moment of deliberation, shed hers as well, hanging both her jacket and her earmuffs on a hook together.

Together, the two girls took their slips up to the teacher, a tall, balding man whose name plate identified him as Mr. Mason. He gawked when he saw their names, and Guin grimaced internally. That’s not particularly encouraging.

He sent the girls back to two empty desks in the back of the room without forcing them to introduce themselves to the class. _Ten points to Mr. Mason!_

It was really quite impressive to Guin － despite the fact that she and her twin were sitting in the back, their new classmates still managed to stare at them. Ignoring them (an art she had mastered early on in her life), she read down through the reading list for the class.

_Brontë, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Faulkner… Bummer. We’ve read it all already.. I guess it’s a good thing I threw my old essays into that box, huh?_

When the bell rang, a gangly boy with skin problems and hair black as an oil slick leaned across the aisle, looking at Bella.

“You’re Isabella Swan, aren’t you? And Guinevere?” he asked, glancing at both girls in turn. He looked like the overly helpful, chess club type.

“Bella,” she corrected, and everyone within a three-seat radius turned to look at them.

“You can call me Guin,” Guin replied.

“Where’s your next class?” he asked. 

Bella checked her schedule. “Um, Government, with Jefferson, in building six.”

“I have Biology II, with Mr. Banner, in building… two, apparently. Funny that,” Guin mused, murmuring a soft, “Biology two in building two.”

“Well, I’m headed toward building four, I could show you the way. I’m Eric,” he said, and Guin sent him a polite smile.

Bella smiled at him tentatively. “Thanks.”

The three of them got their jackets, and headed out into the rain. Guin was pretty sure there were people walking behind them, close enough to eavesdrop. It made her skin crawl.

“So, this is a lot different than Phoenix, huh?” he asked.

“Very,” Bella replied.

“It doesn’t rain much there, does it?”

“Three or four times a year,” Guin says.

“Wow, what must that be like?” he wondered.

“Sunny,” Bella said, and Guin smothered a laugh at her deadpan tone.

“Neither of you look very tan.”

“Our mother is part albino.”

Eric studied Bella apprehensively, and Guin turned her head away to laugh. Bella sighed.

_Clouds and a sense of humor must not mix._

The three of them walked back around the cafeteria, to the south buildings, by the gym. Guin split off from the other two not too long before that, waving a goodbye to Bella.

Biology went well enough － it was all things that Guin had done before back in Phoenix. She met Bella back at building 5, for Trigonometry with Mr. Varner.

This class went less well － Mr. Varner had insisted on the two of them introducing themselves to the class, and while Guin got through it well enough, Bella stammered, blushed, and tripped over her own feet on the way to her seat. The only reason she didn’t end up on the floor was quick thinking on Guin’s part, who had grabbed her arm to steady her.

They split again, after Trig － Bella was going on to Spanish, while Guin had been allowed to take an art class instead of a language class.

There was one, teeny tiny little issue, though.

Guin was lost.

She wasn’t entirely sure how she could end up lost in this school, considering it wasn’t anywhere near the size of her school in Phoenix, but she did.

Guin blames it on the multiple buildings, all scattered around. Squinting down at her map, which wasn’t being very helpful at all, and trying to avoid standing out in the rain, she was pretty sure she was gonna be late to class.

“You look lost!”

Guin jumped at the sudden, melodic voice, snapping around to look at the owner of it. It was a girl, pixie-like in her stature and slimmer than even Bella. Her hair, a deep black, was cropped short and pointing in every possible direction. Her eyes were piercing golden, and despite the smile on her lips, Guin had the feeling that this girl could see right through you.

“You.. You scared me, holy crap.”

The girl laughed, and it sounded like little chiming bells. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to. You do look lost though. Do you need help finding your next class?”

“I － um.. Sorry, who are you?” Guin felt distinctly like she had been hit by a very small, very excited tornado. She felt like the world was spinning around her.

“I’m so sorry! I totally forgot to introduce myself! I’m Alice Cullen. You’re Guinevere, right? Guinevere Swan?”

“Oh, um, yes. But you can call me Guin.”

Alice smiles at her again － always smiling, it seemed － and clapped lightly. “You’ve been the talk of the town! You and your sister, of course. I’ve been so excited to meet you both!! We’re going to be great friends, I just know it.”

Guin blinks a little, taking a half step back when the pixie girl surges forwards as if to hug her. Immediately, Alice steps back, and smiles brighter instead.

_God, this girl is a walking, talking ball of overstimulation…_

“Anyway, you really did look lost, you know.”

“Oh, um－” Before Guin could properly respond, someone called out over the crowd.

“Alice!”

Alice turned, waving one hand in the air and calling out an “Over here!”

Guin watched as a tall, lean boy came striding through the crowd, a small frown on his face. He was _handsome,_ devastatingly so － right out of a period drama, it seemed. Slightly curly, golden hair falling down to his shoulders, a sharp jaw and strong nose, dark, amber eyes... 

Guin had never seen someone so handsome before.

“Alice,” he says again, and he sounded… Annoyed. Disapproving, maybe? His voice was low, rumbling, and Guin felt her stomach erupt with that golden, fizzy champagne feeling again.

Alice smiles at him. “Sorry, Jazz. Didn’t mean to disappear on you. Guin here just looked lost － I couldn’t leave her to wander alone.”

“Who?” the boy asked, eyebrows furrowing a bit. Alice gestured to Guinevere, and Guin swallowed when she met his eyes.

“Guin, meet Jasper, my adopted brother. Jasper, meet Guinevere Swan. She’s one of Chief Swan’s daughters.”

“It’s.. nice to meet you,” Guin says, a little smile tugging at her lips. Jasper just stared at her, dark eyes wide, startled almost － as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Guin felt herself blush.

Alice jabs her brother in the side with her elbow, and he clears his throat sharply. “It’s… It’s a pleasure to meet your acquaintance,” he says, voice low and soft.

Alice smiles, pleased, and Guin looks away from him, too embarrassed to keep looking. His expression was so… fond, when he looked at her? How could someone look like that when they’ve just met?

Guin taps anxiously at her bicep.

“So, Guin, what’s your next class?” Alice somehow seemed to be even more excited than she was earlier. Guin smiles at her, a little bit.

“Oh, um, Art, I think. With Ms. Carr, I think?” Guin offered, extending her schedule for Alice to look over.

“Oh, how lucky!” Alice cried, “Jasper has that class next, too! I have to go to gym, but I’m sure Jasper wouldn’t mind walking you to class, would he?” Alice looks at him as she says this, and Jasper shakes his head.

“Not at all, Miss Swan.”

Guin blushed again, smiling at him softly. “If you’re sure it’s not too much trouble..”

“None at all, I promise.” He extends his arm to her, and automatically, she loops hers through his, settling her hand on the crook of his elbow.

Behind them, Alice calls out a cheerful, “Have fun!”

* * *

* * *

The two teens walked together through the light rain. Jasper had his one free hand shoved in the pocket of his jeans, and he glanced down at Guinevere walking beside him.

She was… _Perfect._ Everything that he had hoped for. Curly, dark brown hair pulled back into a braid － the hours at school had caused it to loosen some, tendrils of hair falling messily around her face. The red ribbon tying it off was a nice contrast － scarlet red, like blood. Dark, doe-like eyes with long, thick lashes, and soft, pretty pink lips.

All of the years spent wondering what she would look like, be like, had finally come to an end. He had called Alice a tease, when they first met.

_If you come with me, you’ll meet your mate. I’ve seen it._

The time to wait and wonder was over now, because here she was, walking by his side like she belonged there, like she had always been there.

“So,” he spoke, “what brings you to Forks, Miss Swan?” 

He watched, entranced, at the way her cheeks flushed pink. It was a strange feeling, wanting to consume her, but not drink her. It was one he had never felt before, staring down a human.

“My sister － Bella － and I moved up here to stay with our dad.”

“Where from, if you don’t mind me askin’?”

“Phoenix, Arizona.”

Jasper lets out a low hum, tugging her to the side a bit so she can avoid a puddle. “You’re a long way from home, darlin’.”

He watched as Guinevere’s cheeks flushed pink again, a little smirk tugging at his lips. “Not really,” she said, using her free hand to lift her skirt slightly so it doesn’t drag in the mud, “Forks has always been my home. More than Phoenix, anyway. My sister would disagree, though.”

“You like the rain?”

“I like the cold,” she corrects, sending him a smile. “Means more layers, and it’s not as strange to walk around in floor length skirts.”

Jasper chuckles, inclining his head in agreement. He pushes open the door to the art building － number four － and gestures for her to go in ahead of him. He follows her inside, watching as she takes in the art room, in it’s messy, colorful, paper-filled glory.

He takes a seat after sharing a smile with her, his eyes tracking her like the predatory he was as she heads up to the teacher’s desk. 

At the beginning of the school year, Alice had told him that he was to take art as an elective. He didn’t care much for it, personally, so when Alice told him this, he was in disbelief. She wouldn’t tell him why － always keeping her visions as close to her chest as she could － but he understood now: his Guinevere was here, and Alice made sure they would meet.

Guinevere smiled at the teacher, passing over a slip of some kind. Ms. Carr, their startlingly liberal art teacher, smiled back at Guinevere brightly. “Welcome to art, Miss Swan!”

“Thank you.”

“We’re just finishing a project now, if you want to spend the hour free sketching, I’ll give you a participation grade for today, okay?”

“Sounds perfect, thank you so much.”

After signing her slip, Ms. Carr directed Guinevere to sit beside Jasper, and he felt a primal sort of pleasure filling his chest. A voice rumbled in his head, _yes, of course she should sit beside him, of course, it only make sense, it’s where she’s meant to be, after all －_

He sends her a playful smile when she sits beside him, tamping down on that side of him.

“Fancy meeting you here, darlin’.”

Warmth spreads in his chest when she laughs, her amusement filling him with bubbles, sweet on his tongue. She was _breathtaking,_ filling his being with every good feeling on the earth － consuming him and overwhelming him until all he could see, all he could smell, all he could feel was her, her, _her._

“How lucky for me,” she smiles at him, teasing, “to have such a handsome gentleman to take me to class _and_ keep me company during.”

He chuckles, dipping his head in her direction.

As the bell rings to signal the beginning of class, they slip into silence. Jasper should have been paying a little more attention to his project, but he found he couldn’t be bothered － not when Guinevere was right next to him, looking so pretty in her concentration.

She was left handed, he noted absently, and she chewed on her lip when she got to a particularly difficult part of the sketch, her eyebrows furrowing and her mouth twisting.

He wanted to know everything, to catalogue every tiny detail of her, to make her a part of him. He would give her the universe, if only she asked. Name every glittering star after her, just to see them reflect in her gaze.

More than a lifetime spent waiting for her, and she was finally before him, soft and shimmering and splendid.

* * *

* * *

Jasper was overwhelming, in the best kind of way. He filled her stomach with golden bubbles of champagne － everything about him was _golden,_ it seemed. Golden hair and golden eyes and a golden smile, everything about him light and bright and beautiful.

Maybe she was just a sap, though.

Being around him was.. easy. Easier than it had ever been to be around someone who wasn’t her twin. He made her giddy － the kind of giddy that had her wanting to dance and flap and made her feel like she was full of every color of the rainbow all at once. He stared at her through the entire class. Maybe it should have been unsettling, strange, but all it did was make her feel warm inside.

When the bell rang, he turned towards her, snapping his sketchbook closed carelessly. “You’re going to lunch next?”

Guin smiled at him, nodding, and he smiled back.

“Would you allow me to escort you?”

Giddy bubbles filled her again, and Guin nodded. “Of course, as long as it isn’t too much trouble.”

“Never.”

She believed him.

* * *

The two of them walked together towards the cafeteria, her hand resting in the crook of his elbow again. They talked a little about Guin and her sister and parents － he seemed keen to know more about her, and she didn’t mind sharing.

He opened the door to the cafeteria again, and Guin looked around, spotting Bella at a table with several other students. It seemed, though, that Guin had captured the attention of most of the student body － they turned to stare at her and Jasper.

Guin felt herself flushing, and she could see Jasper look up and across the cafeteria. Following his gaze, she spotted them: four other teens who looked so much like he did, and nothing like him at the same time.

The pixie girl from earlier, Alice, was sitting there. She waved a little when Guin looked over, but was quickly stopped by a glare from a statuesque blonde. She was tall, with a perfect kind of figure － graceful and just the right amount of curvy, the kind you’d see on the cover of a sports magazine. Her hair was gentle, golden waves falling down to the middle of her back, but her eyes and expression were hard.

Guin felt Jasper shift behind her some, one hand settling between her shoulder blades.

There were two others there － both boys. One was huge, muscled like a serious weight lifter with dark, curly hair. The second was shorter, and lanky, less bulky than either the first boy or Jasper behind her, with untidy, bronze-colored hair. He looked more boyish － younger than the other two.

All of them, even Jasper beside her, were chalky pale － paler than even Bella. They all shared the same strange, yellow eyes, and perfect, straight features.

They were all staring at her. It was unsettling.

Jasper’s eyes on her filled her with warmth － but these four, watching her like this, simply made her feel as though she were being hunted, and not in the fun way. Jasper speaks suddenly, voice low in her ear and apologetic. “My siblings. Apologies, they can be… Irritable.”

“It’s fine,” Guin said, although her voice wavered and she felt like a fool.

Jasper presses a little on her back, nodding his head in the direction of Bella. “You should go eat. I’ll see you later.”

“Sure,” she said, looking a little surprised as she watched him stalk across the cafeteria to slide into an empty seat beside Alice. He looked so different － suddenly, more serious, sharper, his movements sure. Not at all how he looked in the art room － playful and teasing.

Guin stared at him for another moment, watching how the blonde girl turned to hiss something at him, and he returned in kind, looking angry. Guin turned and walked over to where Bella was sitting. A short girl with large, frizzy hair, sitting across from Bella, was staring at Guin with wide eyes. Guin sent her a confused frown.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I.. It’s just.. You.. You were talking to _Jasper Hale._ ”

“Hale? I thought his last name was Cullen," Guin frowns a little, tilting her head some. "Alice said that her last name was Cullen, and she introduced him as her adopted brother...”

“You spoke to _Alice_ too?” The girl hisses, looking as though she’s just witnessed something life altering.

“Yes? She helped me find my class. I’m sorry, I don’t understand why this is a big deal.”

“It’s just － The Cullen’s, they don’t really talk to _anybody._ ”

“What?” The way the other girl had said _The Cullen's,_ as if they were animals in a zoo, had Guin confused. The girl giggles, glancing over at their table. Guin followed her gaze.

She understood, of course, that Jasper and Alice were both part of that family, but she didn’t quite understand what that entailed.

“The Cullen's. They're only, like, totally weird and way too attractive to be normal, y'know? That’s Edward and Emmett Cullen － Emmett’s the big one － and then Rosalie Hale. She and Jasper are twins, or something. They all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife.”

Jasper was watching her, a little smirk tugging at his lips, and Guin pressed hers together, trying to fight a smile. “I see.. I still don’t understand what the problem is.”

“The problem,” the girl continues, sounding somewhat exasperated, “is that Jasper Hale doesn’t talk to _anybody,_ and suddenly he’s talking to _you?_ ”

“Jessica,” Bella speaks suddenly, sounding mildly annoyed. _Always coming to my defense.._ Guin muses.

“I just meant,” the girl － Jessica － corrects quickly, “is that isn’t it funny that he never talks to anyone, and then as soon as the two new girls arrive, he’s suddenly all interested in getting to know you? Like, it’s totally weird, y’know?”

“I suppose..” Guin says slowly, still staring at them. “You said that they lived with Dr. Cullen?”

“Oh, yes! Bella and I were just talking about this before you got here,” Jessica says, “They’re _together,_ too － Emmett and Rosalie, anyway. We all thought that Jasper and Alice were together, too, but I guess we were wrong. And they like, _live together._ ” Her voice held all the shock and condemnation of a small town, although Guin couldn’t blame her.

It _was_ rather strange, but no reason to ostracize them.

“Which ones are the Cullens?” Bella asked. “They don’t really look related…”

“Oh, they’re not. Dr. Cullen is really young － in his twenties or early thirties － so they’re all adopted. The Hales － the blondes － are brother and sister, though, they’re twins. They’re foster children.”

“They look a little old for foster children,” Bella observes. Guin frowns a little as she looks at them, the blonde girl － Rosalie － still shooting glares at her.

“They are now,” Jessica agrees, “Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they’ve been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She’s their aunt, or something.”

“It’s nice of them,” Guin says suddenly, “to take care of all those kids, when they’re so young.”

“I guess so,” Jessica admitted, reluctantly. Guin got the impression that she didn’t like the doctor and his wife － she figured it was a bad case of jealousy. “I think Mrs. Cullen can’t have any kids, though,” she added, and Guin turned to glare at her.

“Does that matter? It doesn’t change what they’ve done, just because they aren’t her biological kids.”

Jessica looked appropriately chagrined, and Guin looked back at the table again with Bella, who couldn’t seem to stop looking at them. It seemed like Jasper looked almost pleased, looking down at Alice with a little smile tugging on his lips. She was whispering something to him, smiling.

“Have they always lived in Forks?” Bella asked.

“No,” Jessica replied, in the kind of tone that implied such knowledge should be obvious and well known. “They just moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska.”

Guin hummed quietly, pressing her lips together. She took everything Jessica had said with a (healthy) dosing of salt － Guin had the feeling that Jessica had a tendency to over exaggerate.

The boy with reddish brown hair glanced up suddenly, meeting Bella’s eyes. She looked away sharply, looking embarrassed, and his gaze trailed to Guin. Before she could look away, his eyes were snapping back down towards the table.

He looked almost chastised － like a child being scolded.

“Which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair?” Bella asked, and Guin smirked a little to herself, poking Bella teasingly in the side. Bella swatted her hand away, frowning.

“That’s Edward. He’s gorgeous, of course, but don’t waste your time. He doesn’t date. Apparently, none of the girls here are good enough for him. Or Jasper, for that matter － I mean, not until you anyway, Guin.”

Guin raised her eyebrows, looking amused. Jessica sounded rather bitter. “Sorry to hear about your rejections.” Guin said, although she wasn’t sorry in the least.

Jessica flushed red, and Bella bit her lip to hide her smile. When Guin glanced up, Jasper’s face was in his hand － covering what looked like a grin. A few minutes later, the five teenagers left their table. They were all unnaturally graceful － even the big one. Guin smiled when Jasper met her eyes, waving a little.

He inclined his head politely, smiling at her as he turned to catch up with his siblings. Jessica let out a little sigh, and one of the other girls － a snobbish looking girl with long, silvery blonde hair － scoffed quietly.

Guin looked at her, surprised. Jessica frowned a little, looking at the blonde girl again. “What’s wrong, Lauren?”

“Nothing,” the girl － Lauren － said sharply, sounding annoyed. “Isn’t it just _so_ lucky that the new girl manages to snag Jasper Hale when he hasn’t even looked at anyone else since they moved here?”

Guin raised her eyebrows a bit. _Another member of the “Rejected By The Cullens Club” then, huh?_

“It’s not my fault he didn’t think you were worth his time,” Guin says casually, standing up and grabbing her bag. She taps at her thigh lightly, shrugging. “Maybe you should check your attitude. It might help in you being more likable.”

And with that, she turned and strode out of the cafeteria, heading to find her next class.

* * *

The rest of Guin’s day went well enough. It was duller, without the golden glow of Jasper Hale around － she learned she shared no other classes with him. He was apparently a senior － a fact she learned from Jessica, who shared her government class.

Gym with Bella went, for once in their lives, quite well actually. Neither girl was required to participate, which meant that Bella was once again saved from the humiliation of trying to be athletic, and Guin was saved from the obligatory headache that follows anytime she tries to help Bella in gym.

After the last bell rang, Bella began her trudge back to the office to return her paperwork. Guin, who had planned to go with her, spotted Jasper standing just outside the gym.

He smiled when he caught her eye.

“Hey, Bella,” Guin said, her twin turning at the sound of her name, “I’ll meet you at the office in a bit, okay?”

Bella frowned a little, confused, before she saw what had caught Guin’s attention, and then she let out a little laugh. “Oh, okay. Sure, I’ll meet you there.”

Guin waved to her, and then made her way quickly over to Jasper, shuddering against the icy wind. When she got close enough, Jasper moved so that he was standing between her and the wind, sending her a smile. “You look cold.”

“You aren’t?” she asks, disbelieving, and he chuckles a bit, tugging at the scarf wrapped around his throat.

“I don’t really get cold. Here, take my scarf.”

“Oh, no! I couldn’t,” Guin cries, but Jasper ignores her, settling it around her neck anyway. It was warm, and soft, soft, _soft._ Grey wool knit into a thick, comfy fabric. Guin lets out a relieved breath, burying her cold mouth into it, before peering up at him.

He looks down at her, head tipping a bit. Some strange emotion passes through his eyes, but Guin can’t decipher it before it’s gone. He tugs lightly on the ends of it with a smile. “There, now you look very cute _and_ very warm.”

Guin laughs, shaking her head a bit. “Are you sure you won’t be cold?”

“I’ll be fine, I promise. Where are you headed next?”

“I have to go down to the office － I have to drop off this slip thingy.”

His voice takes a teasing turn, as he extends his arm for her once again. “May I escort you then, Miss Swan?”

Guin giggles a little, and loops her arm through his. “Why of course, Mister Hale. It would be an honor.”

Jasper smiled down at her, and began to lead the way to the office. After a few moments of companionable silence, Guin speaks. “How _did_ you know what my last class would be?”

Jasper ducked his head a little, looking suddenly embarrassed, a little smile on his lips. “I, ah.. May have asked Alice. She saw your schedule earlier, and told me that this was your last class. I wanted to walk with you.”

Guin stared up at him, eyes wide. “Jasper.. That’s really, really sweet of you.”

Guin had never had anybody _want_ to spend time with her, really. People had a tendency to get annoyed when she started talking － info-dumping about her current hyperfixations or special interests. It’s hard to talk to people when you don’t know anything they want to talk about, and when they don’t bother to listen to what you have to say.

But Jasper…

Jasper wanted to hear what she thought, wanted to know how she felt about things.

It was a novel － and exciting － experience.

The boy shrugged a little beside her, smiling. “Couldn’t let you go tromping through all of this mud alone, could I?”

“It wouldn’t be the first petticoat I've covered in six inches of mud,” she joked, and Jasper laughed. She laughed into her hand, those golden bubbles filling her stomach again. His laugh was wonderful － deep and warm, ringing in her ears and bringing warmth to her chest and her cheeks. She wanted to hear it again, and again, and again, over and over and over.

The two of them arrived together at the office, still lingering in the warm, golden glow of their amusement, when it popped suddenly, sharply, like a pin stabbed into a balloon.

Inside the office was Bella, who had pressed herself back against the wall, but at the front desk was Edward Cullen, arguing with the receptionist over something Guin didn’t quite catch.

What she _did_ catch, was the way Jasper stiffened behind her. He pressed a hand to her hip as cold wind suddenly blew in from outside, rustling papers and flyers on the desk. Jasper nudged Guin forwards, and the two let the door shut behind them. She watched, bewildered, as Edward Cullen stiffened suddenly, and turned slowly to glare at her twin.

Jasper spoke then, his voice a warning. “Edward. We should be leaving, shouldn’t we?”

Edward glanced at Jasper, and whatever he saw on his brother’s face must have spooked him, because for a brief moment he looked frightened, before he schooled his expression again. He turned back to the receptionist.

“Never mind, then,” he said, hastily. “I can see that it’s impossible. Thank you so much for your help.”

And then he turned on his heel and strode out the door, without a second glance at any of them. Jasper squeezed lightly at Guin’s hip, and she turned to look at him. He sent her an apologetic look, voice low.

“I’m sorry. My brother is.. an idiot. Drive home safely, okay?”

“Sure,” she said, still confused. He sent her a smile, before he turned sharply and stalked out after his brother. Guin watched Jasper put on hand on Edward’s shoulder and squeeze, leaning his head low to talk to him.

Frowning a bit at the strange situation, she turned back to the front desk, coming to a stop beside Bella, who looked unnaturally pale － even for her. The receptionist looked at the two girls. “How did your first day go, dears?” she asked maternally as Guin passed over hers and Bella’s slips.

“Very fine, thank you,” Guin replied with a smile. She figured Bella wouldn’t be able to answer.

When the two of them finally got to the truck, the parking lot was practically empty. Guin slid into the passenger seat, sitting in silence with Bella. They sat there for several minutes in silence, Guin leaving Bella to her thoughts, before she finally started to shudder from the cold.

“Bells, we can sit here for as long as you want, but please turn the heat on.”

Bella jerked a little, looking over at her twin. “Sorry,” she mumbled, and Guin just shrugged, burrowing her face a little deeper into the scarf around her neck. She hadn’t given it back to Jasper before he had left － but something told her he wouldn’t have taken it, anyway. Bella started the engine of their old truck, and headed back home. Quietly, Guin reached out to take a hold of one of Bella’s hands.

She didn’t know what happened, but she knew it had hurt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> p.s: twilightgoldenhour.tumblr.com ;)


	3. Open Book

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in this chapter, guin is obsessed with pizza rolls, i spend about 500 words talking about sewing, we get an insight into how bella feels about the whole situation, jasper is soft, and we get some fun cullen shenanigans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello friends! because i love you all, have chapter two early!
> 
> a few housekeeping things:
> 
> one: golden hour now has a tumblr page! you can find it @twilightgoldenhour, and if you follow you'll get extra fun goodies - like outfit sketches! which i've done! and also posts about the actual research i do for this (because i like historical accuracy), silly posts about guin and the cullens, and other nonsense!
> 
> speaking of historical accuracy: i try my best to be as accurate as possible because i care about the history, but there is one scene in this chapter where historical accuracy pretty much goes out the window. for Romance(tm) and Plot(tm) reasons. you'll know when you get there.
> 
> this chapter is about 7.5k, and a good portion of it is fluff and character building because i want guin to be as real and human as possible
> 
> all my love, and please enjoy this chapter! (reviews would be nice, too)

* * *

When Bella told her what had happened that day at school, Guin went on a rampage.

She was _furious._

How _dare_ Edward Cullen treat her sister like that? He may be the brother of the really hot guy who (looking back now) was probably flirting with her all day yesterday, but that didn’t mean shit to her.

He was gonna get his ass kicked.

Bella had tried to get her to let it be, but Guin wouldn’t have it. She didn’t often get angry -- she rather tried to avoid it, honestly -- but this was most definitely a situation that warranted it,

Bella wouldn’t stand up for herself, not over this, but Guin could do it for her.

Of course, Guin’s anger was wasted -- the Cullen boy wasn’t at school the next day.

Jasper had met her outside her Trigonometry class (she suspected Alice had told him that bit of information, too) with a friendly smile. It was wasted on her, though -- she leveled him with a glare. His eyebrows raised in surprise.

“What’s wrong, darlin’?”

“Your _brother_ is an _asshole,_ ” she hissed, but still took his arm when he offered it to her.

“Ah. I see your sister informed you of what happened yesterday.”

“She informed me that your brother is a dick and deserves to get smacked.”

“I can’t argue with that, although maybe I can soothe you some?”

Guin sniffed a little. “You can sure try.”

“My brother felt.. unwell, yesterday. He woke up this morning with a fever. My father thinks it’s the flu,” he said, glancing over at her.

“So, you’re saying he’s not here today?”

“Unfortunately not.”

“Fortunately for him. Should the rest of you be in school if he’s sick like that?” Guin asked, an eyebrow raised. Jasper smiled a little.

“Most of my family members have excellent immune systems. Edward is just unlucky,” he replied, and Guin thought she heard just a hint of humor in his tone.

“Yes, well,” Guin grumbled a bit, letting Jasper open the door to the art room. “It doesn’t give him the right to be so rude to my sister.”

Jasper nodded, smiling. “You’re right, of course. I’ll make sure he knows that before he comes back.”

Guin pressed her lips together, even as she sat beside Jasper at their desks. “I’m still mad at him, you know.”

“Good,” Jasper said, smirking. “He deserves it.”

Later, Jasper escorted Guin to lunch again, her arm wrapped through his. They discussed their classes -- curiosity and a keenness to know more about each other forced down with small talk that was painful for Guin.

She wanted to know more about him, to know everything, but she didn’t want to go too quickly or too suddenly. How do you ask someone you’ve known for a day what their favorite childhood candy was without it being weird?

It was also somewhat disorienting, to feel so strongly about someone so soon after they’d met. She didn’t know him -- knew hardly anything about him -- but still, she felt as though she were being pulled in his direction. It was like there was a lasso around her -- pulling her closer and closer to him, as though the red string that bound them was tightening, trying to prove it’s point.

As they walked into the cafeteria, Guin looked towards the usual table the Cullen’s sat at.

Jasper had been telling the truth — the youngest Cullen wasn’t sitting at the table today.

Alice waved excitedly when she caught Guin’s eye, and Guin returned it in kind. The blonde one didn’t level Guin with a glare cold enough to give her pneumonia, which was surprising, but most definitely pleasing.

“Would you like to meet my siblings?” Jasper asked her, and she looked at him, her lips pressed together to smother a smile.

“You know, I think meeting the family is a second-date kind of thing.”

Jasper grinned. “Don’t worry — you can say Rosalie is intimidating. We all know it. Is this your way of saying you’d like to go on a date with me?”

“‘Date’ is such a romantic term. More like a.. friendly outing.”

“‘Friendly outing’, huh?”

Guin just smirked and strode away from him. “Have a good lunch, Jasper.”

* * *

Lunch was a rather dull affair. Guin, who was finally properly introduced to the rest of the people sitting at the table, spent most of it picking at her lackluster lunch and reading.

She had a craving for pizza rolls. Perhaps she could convince Bella to let her buy a bag while they were shopping?

Her other classes went well enough, although she was unlucky enough to get hit in the head with a wayward volleyball in Gym. Courtesy of Bella, of course.

When Jasper didn’t meet her after gym, she felt disappointment bloom in her chest. Of course, she couldn’t expect him to always be there — but she had hoped.

Instead, she and Bella made their way together to the truck, Bella speed walking so as to avoid an overly friendly Mike. Guin walked more leisurely. Mike hadn’t decided to latch onto her, which spelled good news for her.

As Bella gunned the engine of the truck, causing it to roar to life, Guin’s eyes searched the parking lot for Jasper. She saw him standing beside the shiny silver Volvo, which surprised her exactly not at all.

She had noticed that he and his siblings were incredibly well dressed. Casual enough to fit in, but still with clothes that hinted at designer labels, and well tailored too. Guin wondered how much money they had, to be dressed like that.

They looked over as the truck rumbled by. Jasper caught her eye, sending her an apologetic smile.

_Sorry I couldn’t meet you after Gym._

She sent him a smile in return.

_Apology accepted._

The Thriftway wasn’t too far from the school, and her and Bella commenced their familiar shopping ritual. Bella stuck religiously to the list, and Guin tried her best to smuggle not-list items into the cart. Sometimes she got them, and other times Bella made her put them back.

Bella almost pulled the plug on her 120 count bag of pepperoni pizza rolls, but after a pointed reminder of the volleyball incident, relented.

When the two girls got home, they put the groceries away. They took to stuffing things wherever they could find a free space, and when that was settled, Bella started dinner.

Guin, who fought valiantly to resist the urge to make some of her coveted pizza rolls now, went upstairs to her room instead. Dropping her bag on the floor, she slid into her desk chair, booting up her laptop.

She checked her e-mail first. Predictably, her mom had e-mailed her three times already.

_Guin,  
Be sure to write me when you get in. How is Forks? How was your first day at school? Have you met anyone interesting? I’m almost packed for Florida, but I can’t find my sandals. The ones with the rhinestones? I swear I’ve looked everywhere. Do you know where I put them? Phil says hi.  
Mom_

Eight hours later, she sent another.

_Guin,  
Neither you or Bella have responded yet. What are you waiting for? Has something happened?  
Mom_

The last was from this morning.

_Guinevere,  
If I haven’t heard from you by 5:30 p.m. today I’m calling Charlie._

Guin let out a little hum. _Wow, not even a sign off?_ She must be really freaked.

Guin sighed a little, and penned her reply.

_Mom,  
Calm down. We got here safely — our flight’s were fine. Everything’s going great. Forks is wonderful, but it’s cold and wet. You wouldn’t like it. School was good, if a little boring. I met a boy in my art class — his name is Jasper. He’s very interesting. No, I won’t tell you anything else yet._

_Your sandals are in a box in the garage, I think. One of the ones with summer clothes in them we packed away._

_I’ll write you again soon, but I won’t check my e-mail every five minutes. Breathe. Everything will be fine._

_Love,  
Guin_

With that disaster averted, Guin decided to do something exponentially more fun: browsing one of the costumery forums she was part of.

She spent a while scrolling through blog posts about all kinds of things: garment reconstructions, posts detailing extant originals the author had gotten to look at, threads asking about research or advice for whatever project the writer was working on.

Guin lost herself in a different world, planning out a (rather simple) pattern for the chemise and drawers she would be working on next. She’d have to pull everything from her stash, of course — the one downside of being in Forks is that the only fabric store in town was small and didn’t stock much. Fortunately, she knew the owner, and knew that she’d be perfectly happy to special order anything Guin asked for.

By the time Guin was done with the rough patterning in her notebook and was onto searching her stash for an appropriate linen to make the garments out of, Bella called her down for dinner.

Guin glanced at the clock, frowning a bit. Had it already been that long since she got home?

Trotting down the stairs, she came to a stop in the dining room and slid into her seat at the table.

“Ooh, steak and potatoes. You know the way to a girl’s heart, Bells.”

Bella snorted at her some as Guin helped herself to dinner. They ate in silence for a few minutes, before Charlie spoke up.

“What were you working on up there, kiddo?”

“Pattern planning,” Guin replied. A little smile touched her lips, and she made a clucking noise with her tongue, amused at the alliteration. Charlie smiled at her a bit.

“That’s good,” he said, before looking at both her and Bella. “So, how did you like school? Have you made any friends?”

“Well, I have a few classes with a girl named Jessica,” Bella replied. “I sit with her friends at lunch. And there’s this boy, Mike, who’s very friendly.”

Guin snorted softly. “Friendly is an understatement.” Bella sent her a look.

“Everybody seems pretty nice,” Bella said.

“That must be Mike Newton. Nice kid — nice family.” Charlie replied. “His dad owns the sporting goods store just outside of town. He makes a good living off all of the backpackers who come through here.”

Guin’s lip twitched. _A single man of large fortune, I’m sure._

After a moment of deliberation, Bella finally decided to ask the real question on her mind. “Do you know the Cullen family?”

Guin looked up from her plate. She was rather curious about them too.

“Dr. Cullen’s family? Sure. Dr. Cullen’s a great man.”

Bella hesitated. “They… the kids… are a little different. They don’t seem to fit in well at school.”

“Join the club,” Guin muttered dryly. Charlie looked angry.

“People in this town,” he grumbled. “Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon who could probably work in any hospital in the world, make ten times the salary he gets here,” he continued, getting louder. “We’re lucky to have him — lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town. He’s an asset to the community, and all those kids are well behaved and polite. I had my doubts, when they first moved in, with all those adopted teenagers. I thought we might have some problems with them. But they’re all very mature — I haven’t had one speck of trouble from any of them. That’s more than I can say for the children of some folks who have lived in this town for generations. And they stick together the way a family should—camping trips every other weekend. . . . Just because they’re newcomers, people have to talk.”

Guin smiled a little bit. Hearing her dad rant about something was always good fun.

“They all seemed nice enough to me,” Bella said, somewhat hastily. “I just noticed they kept to themselves. They’re all very attractive.”

“You should see the doctor,” Charlie said, laughing. “It’s a good thing he’s happily married. A lot of the nurses at the hospital have a hard time concentrating on their work with him around.”

Guin smiled to herself. After a few moments of quiet, she spoke. “I met Jasper. The older one, the blonde boy? He was very nice to me. He’s in my art class. He helped me find my way when I got lost my first day.”

“Exactly,” Charlie said, nodding once forcefully. “They’re all perfectly polite. People just love to talk.”

The rest of dinner finished quietly. Charlie cleated the table, and Guin and Bella worked together to wash and dry the dishes (Guin was on drying duty — she couldn’t stand cleaning the dishes).

Once the dishes were done, both girls returned to their respective rooms. Guin forced herself through her math homework, trying to soothe the suffering by listening to music through her iPod while she did it.

When she was so done, her brain felt so fried that all she could bother to do was change into pajamas and fall into bed.

It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep.

* * *

The rest of the week passed similarly. It was mundane, going through the motions of school and classes. The brightest spots were the golden, glittering moments spent talking to Jasper.

It was on Wednesday that something truly exciting happened.

Jasper had, once again, met her after her Trig class to escort her to art. It was just before the bell rang for class to begin, as they settled into their seats, that he dropped the bomb on her.

“Sit with me at lunch today.”

“Pardon?!”

She couldn’t get clarification until after class had ended — Ms. Carr spent the entire hour explaining their newest project, although Guin found she couldn’t focus on it very much.

How rude of Jasper to drop something like that on her so suddenly! And right before class began, when she couldn’t even properly respond?

When class finally ended, she turned to him, pouting. “You can’t just drop something like that on me right before class!”

Jasper chuckled softly, stacking their sketchbooks together to put them away in the cubby. When he got back, he smiled down at her. “Apologies. I did mean it though — sit with me and my siblings at lunch.”

Guin stood up, throwing her bag over her shoulder. “I don’t know, it sure seemed like your sister wanted to bite my head off last time I saw her.”

“She’s protective,” Jasper explained. “She worries about how we’re treated by strangers. I’ve explained it to her. She won’t bite your head off.”

“But I doubt she’ll be particularly nice.”

“You’ll have to give her time to get to know you,” he says, smiling down at her.

Guin huffed a little, but couldn’t quite cover her smile. “Fine, I’ll sit with you.”

“Consider this our chaperoned first date.”

“Mister Hale!” she gasped, playfully. “How bold of you to assume I wanted to go on a date with you in the first place?”

“Forgive me — consider it our chaperoned first ‘friendly outing’,” he teased, and Guin laughed.

Meeting the rest of the Cullens (barring one notable exception) was far less anxiety inducing than Guin had anticipated. Rosalie still scared the ever-living bananas out of her (which was impressive, because Guin is allergic to bananas and thus, doesn’t eat them), but it seemed as though even she had tamped down on her deadly glare, because it didn’t seem quite as deadly as the first time Guin experienced it. More like a bad case of resting bitch face.

When she and Jasper got to the cafeteria, Guin saw Bella standing in the doorway waiting for her. She had taken to doing this after realizing Guin took longer to get to lunch than she did, and Guin appreciated it.

“Bella,” Guin called, and she looked up from the book she had been reading. “I’m going to sit with Jasper and his siblings today, if that’s okay?”

“Of course,” Bella replied. Just because one Cullen was an asshole to her didn’t mean she had to hate all of them. “Have fun,” she said, before heading into the lunch room to find Jessica.

Jasper took her through the lunch line, although he didn’t get anything — she didn’t ask. The school food was… mediocre at best, and she understood any distaste for it.

Together, they walked over to the Cullen’s table — Alice jumped up to greet them as soon as she saw them coming.

“Guin! You came! I _told_ Jasper you would.”

Guin laughs softly. “Thank you for letting me sit here.”

The big burly boy waved at her with a grin. He looked intimidating at first, but when he smiled, his entire face lit up with glee. He reminded Guin of the sun — bright and shining.

“I’m Emmett.”

“Guinevere,” she smiled, “but you can call me Guin.”

“Pleasure to meet you. This is Rosalie, my girlfriend.” He gestured to the statuesque blonde beside him.

Rosalie didn’t smile at her, but she did nod once, and Guin counted that as a win.

Jasper and Guin settled into their seats across from the others. Guin noticed that Jasper sat angled in such a way that he could see the door and most of the other students, but didn’t think too much of it.

Alice looked at her expectantly, hands clasped together. “Please, tell us about yourself, Guin! Jasper hasn’t said a word -- it’s been so awful! I want to know everything!”

Guin felt herself blush. It was odd -- Alice was _so_ excited to know about her, to be her friend. How strange! She’d never experienced this before.

“What do you want to know? I’m not very good at, er,” here, she gestured vaguely into the air, “talking to people, I’m afraid. I don’t have much practice with it.”

“Do you have any hobbies?”

“Well.. I really like historical costuming,” at this, Rosalie sent Jasper a look Guin couldn’t identify. “And period dramas, of course. I also like history -- although, I’m afraid I’m not big on military history. I’m sorry, I know you like it,” she said apologetically, looking over at Jasper.

“Don’t worry,” he said with a grin, “I like it enough for the both of us.”

“Oh, that makes sense!” Alice gasps, and at Guin’s confused look, continues, “Your clothes! They’re so strange -- no offense meant, of course,”

“None taken.”

“I was wondering where you could’ve possibly got them, but it all makes sense now. You make them yourself! So you like sewing, too, then?”

“Yes, and I’m a fan of couture fashion. But like, in a more casual way. I like to look at it, but I wouldn’t recreate it.”

At this, Rosalie sits forward some. “Did you keep up with last fall’s Vogue fashion show?”

“Yes!” Guin gasps. “I didn’t get to see all of it, of course, but I do remember Valentino having a very… _interesting_ orange-and-purple ensemble. It was quite eye-burning, actually.”

“I agree. Did you see that purple dress with the layered ruffles that came later?”

“Oh, I liked that one much better! It was more my taste, for sure.”

At this point, Alice jumps in again. “Valentino’s clothes are so tame compared to other couture designers -- did you see Christian Lacroix’s line?”

“Oh, yes!” Guin gasped. “It was gaudy and awful in the best possible way. I love his stuff.”

The three girls talked for a bit more about various fashion trends and runways, before Emmett jumped back into the conversation. He could only handle so much fashion talk before it got painful -- he didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as his girlfriend did.

He asked about other hobbies; music, video games, movies and books. Guin responded as best she could, telling him that she liked most everything, owned every Queen record on vinyl, had a soft spot for folk and country, and always appreciated some good punk rock, with MCR being, obviously, the best band out there.

She told him that she didn’t play many video games, but that she enjoyed them and had a soft spot for Pokemon (“The collection aspect appeals to me, y’know?”), that her favorite thing to do while watching movies was criticize the costumes, and that she read classics and modern literature in equal measure.

By the time lunch was done, she felt as though she had been through the Spanish Inquisition. It was fun, though -- to talk about the things she loved. And, she had a feeling that Rosalie liked her just a little bit more now, something that she took great pleasure in.

When they got up to leave, Rosalie and Emmett left first. Jasper lingered a few steps away, but Alice approached Guin. When she took Guin’s hand carefully in her own, Guin started.

Her hands were like ice.

She stared at Alice, wide eyed. Alice looked back at her, expression full of genuine honesty and appreciation.

_“Thank you.”_

Guin wasn’t sure what Alice meant, or why she was thanking her, but didn’t have a chance to ask before Alice pulled away and turned to lope off to class, her movements lithe and graceful like a dancer.

* * *

The weekend passed wonderfully for Guin. She got started on properly drafting the chemise pattern on some holiday wrapping paper she had stashed away. Once that had been done, she deliberated on whether or not to make a mock-up — her good sense told her absolutely, but her impatience said “to hell with it”.

While she deliberated, she responded to her mother’s frequent e-mails (although, she noted, less frequent than what Bella received), and even got some homework done.

By Sunday, she had decided that yes, she should do a mock-up, just in case, and got around to cutting that out of some old cat patterned cotton she had in her stash — similar enough in weight and drape to her planned linen that it worked fine.

Guin had a distaste for sewing machines — motorized ones, anyway. They were too loud and overwhelmed her, although she _could_ use one in a pinch when needed. Generally, she resorted to hand sewing garments. It took longer, of course, but it was just as strong, if not stronger, and when it was a project just for her, the time spent mattered less.

Maybe one day she’d be lucky enough to get her hands on a vintage treadle machine, but for now, her hands sufficed just fine.

She didn’t have time to start actually sewing that day, although she did get all her pieces ironed and pinned together for when she _did_ have a chance to start sewing.

Monday arrived, and with it, the allure of Jasper.

School had become routine. Much to Guin’s pleasure, most of the students were perfectly civil to her — if they said anything awful about her, it was never to her face, which was fine by her.

It was especially cold that Monday, and so Guin found herself donning her black silk stockings, two petticoats, a dark grey wool walking skirt, and a navy blue button-up blouse. Instead of her usual black jacket, Guin threw on one of her winter cloaks — the outer fabric was a heavy red wool, and the lining was made of matching silk. It fell down to her hips, the edges of the cloak and hood trimmed in gold binding, and had a tie closure in the front, which she tied into a floppy bow. After she stepped outside and felt how cold it was, she ran back inside for gloves, a scarf, and her earmuffs.

She was entertained through her first period by watching Mike Newton following her sister around like a puppy, begging after scraps. The pop quiz on _Wuthering Heights_ was less entertaining, though.

It was straightforward enough — Guin just disliked the book. She wasn’t sure how her sister could love it so much — although, Guin supposes, she _did_ enjoy Pride and Prejudice perhaps a little bit too much, so who was she to comment?

However, Guin also felt that Pride and Prejudice was superior to most classical literature in general. Perhaps she was biased?

When Guin, Bella, and Mike left their English class together, it had started to snow outside. Guin let out a happy noise, loping out into snow to inspect the fluffy bits as they settled and melted on her gloves. She was thankful now that she had Jasper’s scarf wrapped around her neck -- it was warm against the chilly wind. 

She had worn it every day since he gave it to her. Everyday, she offered it back to him, and everyday, he refused to take it.

“Ew,” Bella grumbled from behind her, and Guin turned back to laugh at her twin, who looked disgruntled. Mike looked surprised.

“Don’t you like snow?”

“Bella,” Guin said playfully as she stepped forwards to hug her sister around the waist, “has a severe allergy to fun.”

“I do not,” Bella huffs. “I just don’t like the rain, and snow means that it’s too cold for rain, which is even worse. Besides, I thought it was supposed to come down in flakes -- you know, each one unique and all that. These just look like the ends of Q-tips.”

“Haven’t you ever seen snow fall before?” Mike asked her, incredulous.

“Sure I have,” Bella said. “On TV.”

Mike laughed. Just then, a ball of squishy, wet snow smacked into the back of his head. The three of them turned to see where it came from, and Guin let out a giggle. Guin had a feeling Eric had been the one to throw it -- he was walking away, his back to them, but in the wrong direction for his next class. Mike seemed to have come to the same conclusion. He bent down and began scraping together a pile of snow.

“I’ll see you at lunch, okay?” Bella said as she continued on. “Once people start throwing wet stuff, I go inside.”

Guin laughed at her sister, striding forwards to lock arms with her as they tramped towards their next classes.

* * *

It was still snowing after art, much to Guin’s immense pleasure. She and Jasper began the tread to the cafeteria together, her arm hooked through his as they laughed together.

Guin had taken to sitting with the Cullen’s at lunch after that first day, and often met up with them while walking to the cafeteria.

About halfway there, Guin spotted the massive form of Emmett standing beside Rosalie and Alice. She came to a stop, and put one finger on her lips as a warning for Jasper to stay quiet. He raised an eyebrow at her as she bent down to scoop a pile of snow into her hand, patting it into shape.

Pulling back, she took a few moments to aim, praying that her shotty hand-eye coordination would come through just this once, before chucking the ball in the direction of Emmett.

She couldn’t have planned it better -- Alice pointed behind him, and Emmett turned expectantly, a grin on his face as he looked for Guin, only to get smacked in the face with a snowball.

Guin burst into loud, delighted laughter. Beside her, Jasper joined her, helping to steady her as she stumbled from the force of her laughs. Emmett looked playfully offended, but it didn’t last long -- a smile broke out over his face as he shook the snow out of his hair. Rosalie wrinkled her nose some in distaste, side stepping the flying snow, although Guin thought, just maybe, there was a little smile on her face, too.

Emmett spun on Alice, pointing at her accusingly. “You set me up!”

“Me? Do something like that? Ridiculous,” Alice said, although there was a sly smile on her lips. Guin laughed again, throwing herself forwards and wrapping her arms around Alice’s waist. Alice paused only for a moment, before returning the embrace, looking positively giddy.

When Guin pulled back, she glanced over at Jasper. He was staring at her with all the fondness possible in the world -- amber eyes soft, with a little smile on his face.

Her good humor was dulled, though, when she spotted the fifth Cullen.

Edward was back at school again, it seemed.

Guin pressed her lips together, a somewhat disgusted look on her face. Cullen sent her an apologetic smile.

“You’re Guinevere Swan, right?”

“Guin.”

Amusement flashed over his face for a moment, before he inclined his head to her. “I wanted to.. apologize, Guin. The way I treated your sister was rude. I was feeling ill that day, and I should’ve been able to.. control myself better. I apologize.”

Guin sniffed a little, “It’s not _me_ you should be apologizing to, it’s my sister. I think you’re an asshole for how you treated her, illness or no. If you don’t apologize to her, Edward Cullen, I’ll kick your ass. I mean it!” she snaps when he has the gall to look amused, and Emmett let out a barking laugh.

“I’m sure you do. I plan on apologizing to Bella in our next class,” Edward promised.

Guin crossed her arms and sniffs again. “Fine. But if she doesn’t think it’s good enough, you’re in for hell, got it?”

“Got it.”

Guin stared at him for a few more moments, before nodding once sharply, and turning to Jasper again, wrapping her arm through his. “Quickly, quickly, if we stand out here any longer I’m gonna turn into a Guin-sicle.”

Jasper let out a laugh, letting her pull him forwards to the lunch room, the others behind them.

* * *

Bella had been late to lunch.

She wished she hadn’t, but her and Jessica were more cautious than usual, trying to avoid the snowballs flying all over. Mike met them as they walked through the doors, laughing and wet from melting ice. He and Jessica were talking about the snow fight as they all got into line to buy food.

She glanced towards that table in the corner, out of habit. Guin had taken to sitting there with the Cullen’s during lunch.

Bella was… unsure, as to how she felt about it.

Of course, she was happy that her younger sister had been able to make friends -- she was delighted, in fact. But… she wondered what about Guin was so alluring to the Cullen’s.

Was it because she was strange, like them?

Bella often felt like she had a glitch in her brain -- sometimes, she felt like Guin had twenty. Bella loved her, of course -- loved her unconditionally and with everything she had, because Guin was her _twin_ and Guin was one of the most important people in her life. But she could love Guin and still acknowledge she wasn’t like most people.

The Cullen’s must have seen something in her, though -- especially Jasper, the blonde boy. He always seemed to be around Guin, laughing and talking with her. Jessica mentioned she had never seen him smile so much, and how strange it was. Bella could tell she was jealous.

Bella was jealous, she realized -- jealous of her sister, that she can make such easy friends with the elusive Cullen’s, as if they had known each other for years already. She tried not to linger on it, but still…

Why Guin?

Her musings were interrupted when she looked over at the Cullen table and saw that today there were _six_ people.

She froze, before looking down quickly. Jessica pulled on her arm.

“Hello? Bella? What do you want?”

Bella’s ears were burning. She had no real reason to feel self-conscious. She hadn’t done anything wrong. And yet…

“What’s wrong with Bella?” Mike asked Jessica.

“Nothing,” Bella replied. “I’ll just get a soda today.” She caught up to the end of the line.

“Aren’t you hungry?” Jessica asked.

“Actually, I feel a little sick,” she murmured. Bella waited for the two of them to get their food, before following them to a table, head down.

She sipped her soda, slowly. Mike asked twice if she was okay.

Finally, she allowed herself to glance at the Cullen table. She decided that, if Edward Cullen was glaring at her, she was allowed to skip biology.

To her surprise, they were laughing, all of them.

Jasper, Emmett and Edward all had their hair saturated with melting snow. Alice, Rosalie and Guin were leaning away as Emmett shook his dripping hair towards them. Guin let out a squeal as Jasper, who’s chest she had leaned into, shook his hair over her, sprinkling her with icy water.

They were enjoying the snow day, just like everyone else — only they looked more like a scene from a movie than everybody else.

There was.. a difference, though. She couldn’t quite pinpoint it. She examined Edward more closely — his skin seemed less pale, more flushed. The circles under his eyes were less noticeable, too. In fact, it seemed as if they were all less pale, more flushed.

There was something more, though. Bella stared, trying to isolate that change.

“Bella, what are you staring at?” Jessica intruded. At that moment, Edward turned his eyes to her — Bella dropped her head and let her hair conceal her face. He hadn’t looked unfriendly when he looked at her. In fact, she would even consider that his expression was… curious.

“Edward Cullen is staring at you,” Jessica giggled.

“He doesn’t look angry, does he?”

“No. Should he be?”

“I don’t think he likes me much.”

“The Cullen’s don’t like anybody… well, they don’t notice anybody enough to like them. Except Guin, apparently. He’s still staring at you.”

“Stop looking at him!” Bella hissed at her.

Bella dropped her head, staring at the table for the rest of the lunch hour.

She would have to go to Biology, it seemed.

* * *

Gym that day was better for Guin. She hadn’t gotten hit in the head with a volleyball, which was considered a win in her book. She met with Jasper after her Gym class, and he walked her to the truck as he had been the last few days. He sent Bella a polite smile when they met her.

“Bella.”

“Jasper.”

He turned back to Guin, and touched her arm briefly. “Be safe, okay? I’ll see you tomorrow,” he murmured to her. She smiled at him.

“I will.”

He smiled at her, before nodding to Bella and turning to walk back to his siblings and their car. Alice waved at her from across the parking lot, and Guin returned in kind.

She and Bella slid into the truck. Bella turned on the truck and heater, and then unzipped her jacket, dropped the hood, and fluffed her hair out. Guin tugged off her scarf and earmuffs, putting them on the seat beside her, and untied her cloak from her throat, letting it drop onto the seat behind her.

Bella glances over at her, eyebrows raised. “So…”

Guin flushed. “Bella…”

“You and Jasper seem pretty close.”

“Bella!”

“I’m just asking! You haven’t known him very long.”

Guin blushes pink. “He… gave me his phone number last week. We’ve been texting a lot since.”

Bella looks at her in surprise. “He gave you his number?”

Guin just nods, blushing. She looks away, out the window. Bella watches her for a moment, before letting out a little laugh and putting the truck into reverse. Bella, who maybe shouldn’t be allowed to drive a two ton metal monstrosity, almost runs into a rusty Toyota Corolla in the process. Thankfully, she managed to slam on the break before then, although Guin lets out a stressed breath.

When she looked up, Jasper was staring at her, panicked. She let out a slow breath, and sent him a little apologetic smile.

_I’m alright, don’t worry._

Edward turned his head towards Jasper, and it looked like he said something, although Guin had no idea what. Beside her, Bella took a deep breath and tried again, with greater success this time.

As they drove past, Guin could see Edward laughing. Asshole.

* * *

That afternoon, Guin got started on sewing her chemise mockup. She used some of her leftover polyester thread — in the past year or so, Guin had tried her best to move away from synthetic materials in her clothing, although not entirely. Some fabrics were just too expensive to go completely natural, but she figured that mostly-natural was better than completely-synthetic.

She and Bella made spaghetti for dinner that night with Guin’s favorite meat sauce recipe. While they were cooking together, Guin made sure to ask Bella if Edward Cullen had apologized, and if she considered it a good apology. Bella confirmed he apologized just fine, and she was pleased. At dinner, she, Bella, and Charlie spoke about their day.

Charlie retold a rather entertaining story of a drunk and disorderly that he was called to that morning which had Guin laughing so hard she snorted her drink up her nose, which made them all laugh harder.

After dinner, once her homework had been finished (forcibly) and she had started her sewing, Guin found herself texting back and forth with Jasper — silly, mundane conversations about nothing in particular. Every moment she spent talking to him she treasured — they made her feel warm and bubbly inside, filled with golden, fizzy champagne, or butterflies, maybe.

That night, Guin fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit her pillow.

* * *

_The windows in the house were lit up with a warm, golden glow._

_It was cold outside, and Jasper was wrapped in all the layers he could find — a struggle in the turbulent time of the war. The inviting warmth of the house beckoned, calling to him like a siren’s song._

_He knocked on the door, listening to the sounds of laughter inside the home._

_It was the evening of December 24th, 1862._

_The door swung open suddenly, letting golden light shine out into the dark and illuminate his face. Standing before him was the girl he’d hoped to see most, her dark eyes bright with joy and face flushed._

_“Guinevere…”_

_She stared at him, wide eyed._

_“Jasper?” she breathed, barely audible. And then, as if realizing just who was standing before her, she let out a giddy laugh and threw herself into his arms._

_“Jasper!”_

_He wrapped his arms around her tightly, dropping his bag of things on the ground. Pressing his mouth into her hair, he breathed in the sweet, soft scent of her. “It’s me, darlin’.”_

_“You’re home! Oh, I wasn’t expecting you at all!” she cried, pulling back to look at his face properly. His eyes tracked her face, memorizing every little detail, noting everything that had changed about her in the years spent apart._

_“My commanding officer gave the battalion leave for the holiday. We’re stationed nearby. I came home to see you.”_

_She cupped his face, staring at him like he was the most amazing thing she’d ever seen in her life. Finally, she seemed to realize they were standing out in the cold, and she stepped back and out of his arms, taking his hand._

_He missed the warmth of her._

_“Come inside, you must be freezing! Quickly, quickly— Oh, Beth will be so happy to see you!”_

_Jasper felt his chest fill with warmth — he had missed his little sister terribly._

_He let Guinevere pull him inside, scooping up his bag on the way. He appreciated the warmth of the home — flooding his bones as he stepped into it. Everything smelled of warm gingerbread and bread. He could feel his stomach ache._

_“Beth!! Oh, Beth, you’ll never guess what Santa’s left on our porch!”_

_“Santa?” he heard a girl call out, and then the sound of feet running across the floor. A young girl slid around the doorway — although, he supposed, she wasn’t as young as she had been when he left — stumbling to an excited stop to see what Santa had brought her._

_When she saw who was waiting for her, arms open in invitation, she let out a shrill shriek and threw herself into his arms. “Jasper!!!”_

_Jasper sank to his knees, holding his little sister tightly. As much as he missed Guinevere, he ached over the loss of his sister. She had grown so much while he was gone — although he was pleased to know that she still held all the excitement and exuberance as she had as a child._

_When he looked up, he saw his mother standing in the doorway — her brown eyes filled with tears, and a hand pressed to her lips._

_“J-Jasper…” she whispered, voice trembling._

_“Merry Christmas, mama.”_

_She let out a choked sob at this, and Jasper stood up, striding over to hug her. Had she always been this small against him, this frail? He worried he would break her if he held too tightly, but she seemed to cling to him as though she never wanted to let him go._

_Finally, she pulled away, cupping his face in her hands to get a good look at him. Stepping away, she cleared her throat, and pulled him into the living room. “Come in, come in! Oh, you must be starving! Your father will be so happy to see you!”_

_He was greeted by cries of surprise and delight, and pulled into too many hugs to count. His family — four older brothers, two of their wives and three children, his father, his mother, and Beth — were there, along with his Guinevere’s — just her, her mother, and her father._

_Beth came back for several hugs._

_It was warm inside, everything bathed in a golden glow from the fire. It was decorated with garland and ribbons and candles, everything smelling of cloves and cinnamon. The tree was decorated with strings of popcorn and candles, bright red ribbon bows and gingerbread, wooden horses and toy soldiers._

_He felt at home for the first time since he left._

_After being fed by his mother, and several carols, and being informed in detail of Beth’s life up to that point, he caught Guinevere’s eye from across the room._

_She smiled at him, and jerked her head towards the kitchen._

_He managed to excuse himself, under the guise of getting more food, before slipping into the kitchen after her. She was standing beside the table, smiling at him._

_Her hair was messy — it always was, but it was no doubt exacerbated by the excitement of the night and the warmth of the house. Her eyes, however, were lit up with glee. He was reminded, once again, of the pleasure which a pair of fine eyes in the face of a pretty woman could bestow._

_She looked down, suddenly solemn, fingers working quickly at peeling the orange she held in her hands. The treat brought warm, fond memories flooding him. As long as he could remember, his parents and hers gave their children oranges for Christmas._

_“Are you faring well, in the war?”_

_“My commanding officer has high hopes for me.”_

_“That’s good, at least,” she murmured._

_“I am sorry,” he said, quietly, “that I could not bring you a gift this Christmas. You deserve one now, more than ever.”_

_She looked up at him, sharply, bewildered. “A gift, Jasper?! Don’t be ridiculous— you are the best gift I could ask for.”_

_He took a step forwards, closer to her, as she finished peeling her orange, twisting and turning it about her hands. He watched her, enraptured._

_“Would you like a bite?” she asked, and he blinked sharply._

_“I’m sorry?”_

_She held the orange up in clarification, a blush dusting her cheeks. He swallowed, embarrassment filling him._

_“No, thank you,” he whispered, and so she took a bite for herself. He watched the juice dribble down her lips and chin, some of it spilling onto her wrist._

_He swallowed again, and stepped closer. She blinked up at him, wiping at her chin, her eyes bright and soft and brown._

_“Jasper…”_

_He didn’t answer, instead bringing up one hand to brush her cheek. Her eyes dropped down suddenly, fixed on his lips. He let out a slow breath._

_He knew, somehow, that this would be his last chance in a very, very long time to act on the feelings he had harbored for her since childhood._

_Leaning down, he let his lips brush hers, barely there._

_“Merry Christmas, Guinevere.”_

_And then he kissed her. Her lips were soft against his, warm. She tasted sweet like oranges, slightly sticky. He could taste the butterscotch candies and gingerbread she had eaten, too._

_She kissed him back._

_He pulled back slowly, staring into her dark eyes, and she licked her lips._

_“Jasper…”_

_“I have always loved you,” he confessed, voice low and meant just for her. “I have always loved you, and when this war is over and I’ve come back to you, I’ll marry you and make you mine for good.”_

_She pressed her forehead against his, closing her eyes against the tears pooling in them. “Please,” she whispered, voice breaking, “please, just come home to me.”_

_“I will.”_

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *narrator voice* he did not, in fact, come home to her


	4. Phenomenon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in today’s episode, guin FINALLY gets her fucking pizza rolls but at the cost of some of Bella’s bad luck, jasper is a hypocritical asshole, edward is both an asshole and a fool in equal measure, and charlie and esme are the only good people in this world. oh, and plot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello lovelies! here's chapter 3 of golden hour -- this is over 11.5k of words, and here's where things really start to pick up, so i'm pretty excited
> 
> much love to my sort-of real life friend rachel for helping me with the latin -- she doesn't read this fic and i pray she never will but all my love to her the same
> 
> this is the chapter where i play fast and loose w/canon vampire biology -- i think it sucks and this is my world and i get to do what i want. also, carlisle is like 28-30, and not 23. smeyer has this weird thing abt ppl growing up + getting older and i DONT so carlisle is a much more appropriate age now
> 
> chapter 4 should hopefully be up saturday, the 2nd of may (a day before my birthday! wow!), but don't quote me on that -- it's the end of the school year and i'm busy-busy and i haven't even started chapter 4 yet so hahaha
> 
> regardless -- much love to you all. please enjoy and let me know what you thought!! i thought this chapter was pretty good personally, so ;)
> 
> xx

* * *

The next morning, Guin woke up disoriented and confused. She had had the strangest dream, and it seemed to linger as she woke.

Trying to shake off the dream, although not doing a very good job, she sat up in bed. The light was strange — somehow clearer than yesterday. When she looked out the window, she saw it was clear of fog. She stumbled out of bed, her legs freezing in her nightdress, and ran over to the window.

To her absolute delight, everything was covered in a fine layer of fluffy white snow. The trees were dripping with frost and icicles, looking otherworldly in the winter light. She knew in the room next door, Bella was probably despairing.

Guin smiled a bit as she chose an outfit for the day. She was feeling more modern than usual, and so she picked out a silver knitted sweater, and a dark green circle skirt. Underneath it, she wore a pair of wool tights, and one of her shorter, smaller wool petticoats. She pulled on a pair of black fur-lined boots, and made sure to grab her cloak, gloves, scarf, and earmuffs before going downstairs.

When she was downstairs, she made herself some toast and eggs, and a cup of tea. She had to turn around and rush back upstairs to grab the backpack she forgot before she and Bella left, with Bella laughing at her the entire way.

The driveway was frozen over. She was quite proud of Bella when she managed to make it to the truck without falling, although there was one close call.

Bella drove slowly to school, giving Guin ample time to ponder on her strange dream. The more she thought about it, the more disoriented and strange she felt — as if she wasn’t entirely there in the moment. And yet, she found she couldn’t _stop_ thinking about it. Maybe she’d watched _Little Women_ too many times that weekend.

When she and Bella arrived at school, Guin tried to clear her mind again, wanting to focus on the day ahead. Sliding out of the truck, she crossed to where Bella was standing at the back end of it. Glancing down, she saw what had caught her sister’s attention: Charlie had gotten up early to put snow chains on the truck.

Guin felt her chest bloom with love and appreciation, and had to blink back the tears suddenly pooling in her eyes.

“Guinevere!” she heard Jasper call out, and turned her head to smile and wave at him. He was jogging across the parking lot towards her, sturdy boots keeping him from slipping on the ice. He was about halfway to them, when Guin heard an odd sort of sound.

It was a high-pitched screech, and it was becoming painfully loud. Guin turned her head around, almost too slowly, to see where it was coming from.

Guin saw several things, all happening at once. It was all moving too suddenly, too fast to really keep up, especially when Guin already felt distant from her body.

She saw Jasper, two cars down from her and staring at her in terrified horror. What _really_ caught her attention, though, was the dark blue van, skidding towards her and her sister, tires locked and squealing against the breaks, spinning wildly across the ice of the parking lot.

It was going to hit the corner of the truck — right where her and Bella were standing.

For a half second, Guin could do nothing. And then, her instincts seemed to kick in — she turned sharply, and _shoved_ Bella out of the way. She could hear Bella yelp, and the sound of her falling, but it was of no importance — the van was still coming and she couldn’t move and didn't have the time.

Just before she heard the shattering, sickening crunch of the van folding around the truck bed, something painfully hard and unusually cold slammed into her. She felt a hand curl around the back of her head, and a heavy body curling around hers protectively. She felt her back and hips slam into the icy blacktop, and the wind was knocked out of her.

Disoriented, she could see the van sliding again — skidding towards her and Bella and whoever was holding her. The body shifted suddenly, large hands dropping her and crossing her vision, the sound of something hard slamming into the side of the van. When she looked over through her blurred vision, she saw Jasper, his shoulder shoved into the side of the van where there was a large dent. She watched him pick up her legs, and swing them around as if she weighed nothing — before the car dropped heavily, settling on the asphalt right where her legs had been less than a second before. A single, frozen second passed — and then the screaming started.

Suddenly, Guin realized quite sharply, that she _couldn’t breathe._

She choked, struggling to gasp in a breath against her frozen lungs — Jasper’s head snapped around to face her, and immediately he was hunched over her again, one hand cradling the back of her head protectively.

She tried to suck in another breath, but it caught harshly in her throat, and she could hear Jasper’s soothing, warm voice in her ear, although it was strained.

“Breathe, Guinevere, breathe. You need to breathe, you silly girl, breathe.”

As if he held command over her, she suddenly sucked in a sharp, painful gasp — and then proceeded to immediately begin coughing and hyperventilating. She could hear Bella, a few feet away, asking desperately after her, but all she could see was Jasper’s face before hers and his warm golden eyes.

“You need to slow down. Deep breaths, darlin’, deep breaths. Breathe with me, okay? In and out, in and out, steady, steady…”

She could feel her breaths returning back to normal, and realized she had clutched onto his shirt. Bella, who was beginning to sound desperate and rather terrified, called out her name. Guin cleared her throat.

“I’m alive,” she croaked, and Jasper made a soft shushing sound, pulling her tighter against his chest. He held her against him tightly, like he was terrified that if he let go, she’d disappear. He buried his face in her neck, breathing in ragged, pained breaths.

Guin swallowed again. She.. she was _sure_ that Jasper had been too far to get to her in time. And.. and she _saw_ him lift that van — saw him slam his shoulder into it to stop it. She knew, somehow, that _he_ had caused that dent.

She clutched him tighter. “Jasper…”

“Shh, darlin’, shh. I’ll explain it all later, okay? I swear, but right now I need to hold you or else I’m gonna lose it. Please,” he croaked, and Guin burrowed her face deeper into his shoulder. Vaguely, Guin could hear people yelling and crying and speaking, and she could hear Bella speaking behind her, another musical voice responding (Edward, maybe?), but she couldn’t quite make out what they were saying. All she could focus on was the man holding her against him, desperately — as if he couldn’t bear to part from her.

Suddenly, Guin realized that _she almost died._

In a few seconds, she almost _died._ And suddenly, she felt terrified tears welling in her eyes, and she let out a choked sob into Jasper’s shoulder. He shuddered above her, pressing her closer to him and more into the icy blacktop (how was it, that she was only just realizing that her back was frozen?).

“Shh, darlin’, please don’t cry, please don’t cry. You’re safe now, I’ve got you, it’s okay. Nothing will hurt you now, I swear it. It’s okay, it’s okay…”

He continued murmuring soft, soothing nonsense into her ears, and after a few moments of choked, terror-filled sobs, she managed to settle herself some.

By the time the van was moved far enough away to bring in the stretchers — it took six EMTs and two teachers to move it — Guin had sat up, still tucked into Jasper’s chest protectively. Edward had ended up caged in with them, somehow. Guin didn’t ask. Her hip hurt, a sharp, stabbing pain, although she felt calmer. Her panicked sobs had settled, and she didn’t feel quite as disoriented as she had earlier. The pain in her hip seemed to help force the disorientation away, and she had to sit strangely in Jasper’s lap to take pressure off the joint.

Before the EMTs got in with the stretchers, Guin murmured against his neck, “Can I please walk?” She didn’t want anyone else touching her -- didn’t want to leave Jasper’s grasp, even if it was a foolish decision.

“Yes,” Jasper breathed, and tightened his grip on her.

Guin watched, feeling somewhat distant, as Bella was loaded onto a stretcher and forced into a neck brace. Even as strange as she felt, although she was calming rapidly, she could still find the humor in forcing Bella to be on the stretcher. She was positively pouting.

She heard Jasper politely refusing the stretcher, and then helped her stand up, steadying her when she stumbled. They walked out towards the ambulances, although she found that the sharp, piercing pain in her hip caused her to limp awkwardly. It hurt to walk, and she realized maybe she _should’ve_ taken that stretcher as she leaned heavily on Jasper. Charlie arrived just before she could get into the ambulance with Bella, Jasper still holding her close.

“Bella! Guin!” he yelled in panic. Guin felt her eyes filling with tears again.

“Daddy,” she choked, and Charlie ran forwards to gather her into his arms. She clutched tightly onto his shirt. He looked over at Bella, worried.

“I’m completely fine, Char — Dad,” she sighed. “There’s nothing wrong with me.”

Charlie, Guin still clutched in his arms, turned to one of the EMT’s for a second opinion.

Guin could feel her anxiety raising wildly, her heart pounding and her throat closing in distress. She reached out blindly, wiggling her fingers, and Jasper was grabbing onto her hand immediately. She could feel the anxiety receding.

When she looked around, her eyes fell on the other three Cullen’s. They were staring at her in worry — Alice especially. She was clutching onto Emmett’s arm, looking positively devastated. Even Rosalie had worry etched across her features.

Charlie suddenly seemed to notice the tall boy standing next to them, clutching his daughter’s hand like a lifeline.

“And who is this?” he asked rather sharply. Guin squeezed Jasper’s hand.

“Jasper Hale, sir,” Jasper replied, although he didn’t extend a hand for a shake. They were both rather occupied at the moment

“Jasper… pulled me out of the way of the van,” Guin whispered. “He saved my life, daddy.”

Immediately, she felt Charlie relax. He sent Jasper an appreciative look. “Thank you,” he said, sincerely.

“Anytime, sir.”

Finally, Charlie had to let Guin go. Jasper immediately replaced him, curling his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his chest. She and Jasper loaded into the back of the ambulance, sitting squished together. Guin spent the ride with her face shoved into Jasper’s chest — she got carsick easily, and now she felt nauseous on top of everything else.

The ambulance got a police escort to the hospital, of course. When they arrived, Jasper helped Guin out of the ambulance. When she stumbled and gasped at the pain radiating from her hip, Jasper scooped her up easily, cradling her against his chest. He carried her into the emergency room, settling her carefully onto a bed beside Bella. He sat next to her on the edge of the bed, one arm draped across her waist and the other holding tightly to her hand.

Guin was much more agreeable than Bella despite the pain — she let the nurse take her blood pressure and temperature without much fuss. When the nurse frowned a bit after the temperature reading, Guin spoke up. “I have a low baseline. My normal temp is around 96.5.”

The nurse nodded, and sent her a smile before leaving. Guin watched in smothered amusement as Bella took the neck brace off and threw it under the bed.

“I was wondering when you’d ditch that.”

“Ha ha, you’re hilarious.”

“Aren’t I, though?”

Their banter was interrupted when there was another rush of hospital personnel, and another stretcher was rolled in. Guin could recognize Tyler Crowley beneath the bloodstained bandages wrapped tightly around his head. He was in her Biology class.

Beside her, Jasper tensed.

“Bella, Guin! I’m so sorry!”

“I’m fine, Tyler — you look awful, are you alright?” Bella asked, as the nurses began unwinding the soiled bandages, revealing a myriad of shallow cuts all over his forehead and left cheek. Jasper’s grip on Guin’s hand tightened, and he brought her hand up to his mouth, pressing his lips to the back of it. Guin touched his side, concerned.

“Jasper?”

“Blood… distresses me,” he says slowly against her skin. She nodded, and shifted her good leg to press against his side, trying to stay calm and relaxed. She figured it wouldn’t help anyone if she freaked out, too.

Tyler Crowley spoke again, sounding distressed. “I thought I was going to kill the two of you!” he cried, looking between Bella and Guin. “I was going too fast, and I hit the ice wrong, and…” He winced as one of the nurses began dabbing at his face.

“Don’t worry about it, you missed me,” Bella said. Guin just sent him a tight smile.

“How.. How did you get out of the way so fast? You were there, then you were gone,” he asked, looking between the two girls.

“Well… Guin pushed me, and then Edward grabbed me, but…” Bella said, frowning back at her sister.

“Edward?” Crowley asked.

“Edward Cullen — he was standing next to me,” Bella lied, rather poorly.

“Cullen? I didn’t even see him… It all goes by so quickly. Is he okay?”

“I think so,” Bella said.

“Jasper pulled me out of the way,” Guin said, plainly. Thankfully, she was a better liar than her sister. “He was standing next to me — he had come by to say good morning. Lucky for it, too.”

Jasper squeezed her hand, and Tyler looks surprised, as if he’s only just noticed him. “Are you okay? You didn’t get hurt, either?”

“No harm done,” Jasper says, rather curtly.

After that, they took Bella away for X-rays, and told Guin that after Bella, she’d have to get her hip checked, just to be sure it wasn’t serious.

X-rays went fine, although they did find out that she had a hairline fracture in her hip — the doctor would have to come and look at it to be sure it wasn’t too serious. When she was rolled back to the ER, Jasper was waiting in the hallway, staring hard at the wall across from him. He looked handsome, serious, dignified -- arms behind his back and shoulders squared and chin lifted. He looked over at the sound of the wheelchair they used to move her, and she waved a little. His expression turned worried.

“Are you alright?”

“Hairline fracture in my hip. It shouldn’t be too serious, but they want the doctor to check it out anyway.”

Regret passes over Jasper’s face quickly, although he falls into step beside her anyway as the nurse rolls her back to her bed. Bella looked at her, worried.

“You’re lucky, Bells — I have a hairline fracture in my hip.”

“Oh, bummer,” she muttered, and Guin sent her a grin.

“This just means you get to cater to my every wish for the next few weeks.”

“Suddenly, I no longer feel sympathetic. How funny.”

Bella let her eyes close, while Jasper settled on the side of Guin’s bed again, holding her hand to his lips. She let out a sigh, and let her eyes slip closed, too, trying to block out the sound of Tyler mumbling his apologies.

“Is she sleeping?” a musical voice asked. Guin blinked her eyes open, turning to see Edward standing at the foot of Bella’s bed, smirking at her.

“Hey, Edward, I’m really sorry,” Tyler started, but Edward held up a hand with a smile.

“No blood, no foul,” he said, and looked over at Guin. Worry crossed his face. Guin decided she liked him just a little more now. “And Guin, are you alright?”

“I have a hairline fracture in my hip. Honestly, all I want to do right now is go home, and eat a bunch of pizza rolls, and take some pain meds, and rewatch the 1994 _Little Women._ ”

Edward let out a musical laugh, and she could feel Jasper smile against her hand. Edward turned back to Bella. “So, what’s the verdict?” he asked.

“There’s nothing wrong at all, but they won’t let me go,” Bella complained. “How come you aren’t strapped to a gurney like the rest of us?”

“It’s all about who you know,” he answered, a playful tone in his voice. “But don’t worry, I came to spring you.”

Guin snorted.

Then a doctor walked around the corner. Guin’s eyebrows raised. He was young — late twenties, probably, maybe early thirties, and exceedingly handsome. Like, unfairly so. He was pale, though, and tired looking — there were dark circles under his eyes.

This must’ve been Dr. Cullen, the Cullen patriarch.

“So, Miss Swan,” Dr. Cullen said. His voice sounded like… well, Guin wasn’t sure _what_ his voice sounded like, but it was as attractive as the rest of him. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” Bella repeated, sounding somewhat frustrated. Dr. Cullen walked to the light board on the wall above Bella, and turned it on.

“Your X-rays look good,” he said. “Does your head hurt? Edward said you hit it pretty hard.”

“It’s fine,” Bella grumbled, scowling at Edward. Guin laughed softly.

The doctor’s fingers probed lightly around Bella’s skull. He noticed when she winced.

“Tender?”

“Not really.”

Edward chuckled, and sent Bella a patronizing glance. She glared at him again.

“Well, your father is in the waiting room -- you can go home with him now. But come back if you feel dizzy or have trouble with your eyesight at all.”

“Can’t I go back to school?” Bella asked.

Dr. Cullen sent her a placating smile. “Maybe you should take it easy today.”

“Does _he_ get to go to school?” Bella asked, looking at Edward.

“Someone has to spread the good news that we survived,” he said, smugly.

“Actually,” Dr. Cullen corrected, “most of the school seems to be in the waiting room.”

“Oh no,” Bella moaned, covering her face with her hands, and Guin let out a laugh, which turned into a gasp when the movement sent pain stabbing through her hip. Her grip on Jasper’s hand tightened, and he made a low… noise? She couldn’t tell what it was, but it sounded strange.

The three others looked over at her, and Carlisle strode over immediately. Behind them, another doctor seemed to be checking over Tyler. “Miss Guinevere Swan, yes?”

“Please call me Guin.”

“In that case, you may call me Carlisle.” Carlisle smiled, and then sighed as he looked at her X-rays. “I had been hoping that the first time we met would be under pleasanter circumstances than this.”

“Me too. Although, I suppose it’s par for the course, considering you’re a doctor.”

“Your wit seems to be intact, which is good news to me.”

“Has my reputation preceded me?” Guin asked, grinning. She noticed, vaguely, that Bella and Edward had stepped outside.

“Jasper talks about you often.”

Guin looked at Jasper, letting out a teasing “Aww, you talk about me to your parents?” to which he responded with a kiss pressed to her knuckles.

“I always do.”

Guin sent him a fond smile. Carlisle smiled softly, and let out a thoughtful hum, staring at her X-rays.

“The fracture isn’t too bad, it seems. It will probably be quite painful, though. Hairline fractures in this area tend to be. May I check your back?” he asked, although he glanced at Jasper when he said it. Guin nodded, and then Jasper nodded once, tensely, and helped Guin sit up carefully. Guin raised her sweater and tank top, grimacing as the movement pulled at her sore ribs and back.

Dr. Cullen prodded around the area gently, watching as she winced and tightened her grip on Jasper’s hand when he prodded a particularly tender spot. He pulled away, letting her drop her shirt once more, and moved back around to her front.

“Just sore, it seems. You’ll probably have some nasty bruises along your back for a few days. Ice should help with them. As for the fracture, I’ll ask you to keep off of it for the week, and next Wednesday you can return to school. Ice will help with pain, as will the painkillers I’m going to prescribe you. The instructions will be on the bottle for you, and they should help with any pain you have.”

“Dr. Cullen, are you prescribing me, a poor high school student, the good shit?”

Carlisle laughed. “I am, as you say, prescribing you ‘the good shit’.”

Guin laughed into her hand, closing her eyes. “Oh man, I think the pain is making me loopy.”

Dr. Cullen chuckled again. “I’ll get you some crutches to help with movement, and I ask you to keep very light pressure on it for another two weeks after your bedrest is done. Come back in three weeks and we’ll take another X-ray, see how you’re progressing. Do you have any allergies? Any medications you’re on currently?”

“No allergies to medicine, although I am allergic to potassium, if that matters. I take 500 milligrams of magnesium to supplement my lack of potassium, but no other medications, aside from the occasional allergy medicine or Tylenol.”

He nodded in acknowledgement, and quickly wrote a script for her prescription. He smiled at her politely. “I’m going to inform your father and give him the prescription for your pain medication and your crutches, okay? Jasper, would you help Miss Swan out?”

“I’ve got her,” Jasper said immediately, and Carlisle sent the both of them another kind smile.

“I do hope the next time we meet, Miss Swan, it is on better terms.”

“You and me both, Doc.”

After he had left, Guin stopped Jasper from helping her into the wheelchair. He stopped immediately and looked at her. She fiddled with his fingers she held for a moment, somewhat anxious.

She knew, she _knew_ , that whatever Jasper had done today to save her… it had to have been inhuman. And she wanted to know what it was -- and maybe get answers to her other questions, like why she feels how she does about Jasper, and why he seemed so keen on her so quickly, and perhaps what that strange dream meant.

“If I… leave my window open in my room… will you be able to get in?”

Jasper swallowed, and pressed a kiss to her hair, breathing in her smell. “Yes,” he breathed. Guin squeezed his hand.

“Okay.”

They don’t speak after that. Jasper helped her into the wheelchair, and pushed her out into the waiting room. Guin cringed when she saw everyone waiting for them, but was relieved at the sight of Charlie and Bella waiting off to the side. Charlie sent her a worried look, strode forwards to her, and pressed a kiss to her hair.

“Come on, Gwinny. Let’s get you home, yeah?”

“Bells, will you make me pizza rolls when we get home?” Guin asks, pouting at her. Bella snorts as they walk out, Jasper pushing her chair.

“Sure, weirdo.”

“You’re the best.”

* * *

Jasper could feel the anxiety eating at him as soon as Chief Swan had driven out of the parking lot. It clung to him, thick and heavy in his throat. His chest felt tight, and he knew if he were human, his breathing would be tight, shaky.

Edward’s hand dropped on his shoulder. Jasper let out a low growl. He was upset with Edward.

Guinevere was going to know, anyway — it had been agreed upon by the family. She was everything to Jasper, of course she would be told and eventually changed.

Bella, on the other hand, did not _need_ to be told. She didn’t _need_ to know. Guinevere had shoved her sister out of the way — Edward didn’t need to be there at all. Jasper was closer, it would’ve been easier to write off — he greeted Guinevere in the parking lot every morning, and most of the humans in the school knew that. It would’ve made sense for him to be beside her.

“It’ll be fine,” Edward muttered, and Jasper glared at him.

“This situation is _your_ fault.”

“I didn’t send Crowley’s van sliding.”

“No, but now Bella is suspicious and we may have to leave and my _mate_ is in _danger_ and _this is your fault._ ”

Edward glares at him, and Jasper snarls, grabbing a fistful of Edward’s shirt in order to get his point across properly. Before he can do something drastic -- like tearing off Edward’s arm -- the shiny silver Volvo drove up to them in the parking lot.

Alice stepped out, looking at them worriedly. “Jasper, is Guin alright?”

Jasper turns to Alice slowly, letting Edward drop back to the ground. He stares at her for a moment, before nodding. “She has a hairline fracture in her hip. Carlisle says she’ll be fine.”

Alice lets out a relieved breath. “Good, I was worried. We all were. Are you coming back to school?” she asks, looking at him, and Jasper shakes his head.

His entire body was tense, tight -- coiled up and ready to spring. He couldn’t go back to school -- couldn’t go back to pretending when his control was shot to hell and the beast in him was lingering at the surface. One wrong move -- from him _or_ anyone else -- would make him snap. The thread keeping his sanity -- his humanity -- intact, was thin, worn, soon to break. The allure of human blood would be too much to handle right now, when he’s already amped up and distressed.

He would go for a run, instead. The family had to have a talk before he could go to Guinevere, anyway. It would be best if he was able to cool off some before then.

He still had plans to kill Edward, though.

Alice sighed a little, looking at him with a frown. “Be careful. And I would rather you not.”

“We’ll see.”

He ran all morning -- long enough for the school day to end and the others to leave for home. He met them there, walking into the house from the back door. Esme looked relieved when she saw him, letting out a soft sigh. “Jasper, thank goodness you’re alright.”

“I’m fine,” he said, softly, as they all headed into the dining room. It was never used for that purpose, of course, but Carlisle and the others always tried to have all the right things in their place. More often, it was used as a conference room. A group with such strong and opposing personalities as this one sometimes required a place to discuss things in a calm manner.

Jasper doubted it would work today.

Carlisle took his normal seat, at the eastern head of the room. Esme sat beside him, holding his hand on top of the table. Edward sat beside them, on Carlisle’s other side. Rose sat directly across from Carlisle, with Emmett sitting beside her. Jasper stood against the wall behind Rose, arms behind his back, staring Edward down with a glare.

Edward looked away from him uncomfortably.

Alice came in last, eyes distant, focused on the future. Without seeming to think about it, she sat next to Esme. She rubbed her forehead, as if she had a headache.

Edward was the first to speak. “I’m sorry,” he said, looking first to Rose, then Jasper, and then Emmett. “I didn’t mean to put any of you at risk -- or Guin,” he added at Jasper’s cold expression. “It was thoughtless, and I take full responsibility for my hasty action.”

Rose glared at him, threateningly. “What do you mean, ‘take full responsibility’? Are you going to fix it?”

“No,” Esme murmured. “No, Edward.”

Edward patted her hand. “It’s just a few years.”

“Esme’s right, though,” Emmett said. “You can’t go anywhere now. That would be the _opposite_ of helpful. We have to know what people are thinking, now more than ever.”

“Alice will catch anything major,” Edward disagreed.

Carlisle shook his head. “I think Emmett is right, Edward. The girl will be more likely to talk if you disappear. It’s all of us leave, or none of us.”

Jasper spoke for the first time since this meeting began. “Guinevere will have to come with us.” His voice was a low rumble -- he could feel the unease of the others as they realized he was toeing the line between Jasper -- the sane, human part of him -- and the Major -- the side of him born in the bloodbath in the South.

Carlisle nods, once. “That, too, is something to think about. Guin will have to come with us.”

Jasper could feel Edward’s aversion to the idea. He let out a low, warning rumble.

Apparently, that morning was not the only time Edward had decided to be a fool today. "I don’t think we should involve Guin into this.”

Jasper stepped forwards, off the wall, letting out a snarl. Edward cringed back some. “You want me to _leave_ my _mate?_ Are you a _fool?_ Guinevere will know. The family has discussed this. Guinevere will know and be changed, it’s been agreed upon--”

“I did not agree to that--”

_“Don’t interrupt me.”_

Edward fell silent, as did the others. Jasper stepped forwards and put his hands on the table, leaning over it some to stare down Edward at the opposite end. His voice was low, collected, and _terrifying._

“You do not get to decide what happens to my mate. You were outvoted. Guinevere comes with us.”

Edward swallows tightly. Carlisle spoke up, trying to soothe the situation.

“Of course Guin will come with us, Jasper. She’s part of the family now. It complicates things, but nothing we can’t deal with.”

It takes a moment, but Jasper shifts again, returning to his spot against the wall. The conversation continues.

“We can’t allow the human a chance to say anything!” Rosalie snaps, smacking her palm against the table. “Carlisle, you _must_ see that. Even if we decided to all disappear, it’s not safe to leave stories behind us. We live so differently from the rest of our kind -- you know there are those who would love an excuse to point fingers. We have to be more careful than anyone else!”

“We’ve left rumors behind us before,” Edward reminds her.

“Just rumors and suspicions, Edward. Not eyewitnesses and evidence!”

“Evidence!” Edward scoffed, but Jasper nodded in agreement. Rosalie was right -- there was too much evidence against them. His presence could be explained away easy enough -- Edward’s couldn’t.

“Rose--” Carlisle began.

“Let me finish, Carlisle. It doesn’t have to be any big production. The girl hit her head today. So maybe that injury turns out to be more serious than it looked.” Rosalie shrugged. “Every mortal goes to sleep with the chance of never waking up. The others would expect us to clean up after ourselves. Technically, that would make it Edward’s job, but this is obviously beyond him. You know I’m capable of control. I would leave no evidence behind me.”

“Yes, Rosalie, we all know how proficient an assassin you are,” Edward snarled, and Rosalie hissed at him, fury filling her. Edward turned to Jasper again. “And you! You’re willing to kill your mate’s twin? Her best friend?”

Jasper lets out a low, rumbling growl. Edward was really pushing it today, wasn’t he? “Guinevere would come to understand I did it for her protection. It may take a while, but she would.”

Edward snarls again. “You speak about her as if her life means nothing!”

“In the face of my mate’s safety? Of course not! It’s nothing if it means Guinevere is safe!” Jasper snarled back at him, shifting forwards as if to lunge across the table. Tearing off his arm was looking more and more tempting right now.

Carlisle held his hands up, voice placating. “Please, everyone calm down,” he said, and then turned to Rosalie. “Rosalie, I looked the other way in Rochester, because I felt that you were owed your justice. The men you killed had wronged you monstrously. This is not the same situation. The Swan girl is an innocent.”

“It’s not personal, Carlisle,” Rosalie said through her teeth. “It’s to protect us all.”

There was a brief moment of silence while Carlisle thought through his answer. Jasper shifted back, and spent the entirety of it glaring at Edward. Finally, Carlisle nodded, and Jasper could feel Rosalie’s pleasure rush through her, although he was… unsure. Carlisle never compromised.

“I know you mean well, Rosalie, but… I’d like very much for our family to be _worth_ protecting. The occasional… accident or lapse in control is a regrettable part of who we are. To murder a blameless child in cold blood is another thing entirely. I believe the risk she presents, whether she speaks her suspicions or not, is nothing to the greater risk. If we make exceptions to protect ourselves, we risk something much more important. We risk losing the essence of who we are.”

Jasper was careful to keep his expression flat, neutral, but annoyance filled him when he felt Edward’s pleasure. Rosalie scowled. “It’s just being responsible.”

“It’s being callous,” Carlisle corrected gently. “Every life is precious.”

Rosalie sighed heavily, and her lower lip pouted out. Emmett patted her shoulder. “It’ll be fine, Rose,” he encouraged in a low voice.

“The question,” Carlisle continued, “is whether we should move on?”

“No,” Rosalie moaned. “We just got settled. I don’t want to start on my sophomore year in high school again!”

“You could keep your present age, of course,” Carlisle said.

“And have to move again that much sooner?” Rose countered. Carlisle shrugged. “I _like_ it here! There’s so little sun, we get to be almost _normal,_ ” Rose continued. “Besides, moving would be more complicated than usual -- we’d have to find a way to explain Guin’s sudden disappearance without raising suspicions about ourselves, too.”

Jasper could feel Edward’s annoyance at the fact that they were even including Guinevere in this, and he let out a growl.

Carlisle just nodded. “Well, we certainly don’t have to decide now. We can wait and see if it becomes necessary. Edward seems certain of the Swan girl’s silence.”

Jasper was still unmoved. He knew the consequences of allowing things like this to pass, to go unresolved, and at the moment his mate was too fragile to be left vulnerable. He wouldn’t -- couldn’t -- allow it to pass. And it put his family in danger too -- Alice, the one who had saved him from a life he couldn’t bear, and Rosalie, the one he truly thought of as his sister.

Yes, the Swan girl would have to die. Of course.

“Jasper,” Edward spoke, and Jasper leveled him with a warning expression. _Don’t be a fool, Edward. You’ve been one quite enough for today._

“She won’t pay for my mistake. I won’t allow that.”

“She benefits from it, then? She should have died today, Edward. I would only set that right.”

“And Guin shouldn’t have? By that logic, should Guin not also die?”

As soon as he had said that, Jasper could feel the regret flow through him, but it was lost in the rage he felt. The Major paused, tilted his head, staring down the boy before him. He strode forwards, steady and collected, across the room (in his peripherals, he could see Carlisle’s remorseful expression, although he did not interfere). Edward stood up, but before he could move away, the Major had taken him by the throat and slammed him into the wall. It cracked and dented under the pressure. (Jasper briefly felt sorry, because Esme was the one who would have to fix that.)

Major let out a snarl, tightening his grip around the boy’s throat. Edward’s hands reached up, scrabbling at the Major’s wrists. He may not have needed to breathe, but having your head ripped off was not a fun experience.

“I,” he breathed, leaning in close to Edward’s ear, “would be real, real careful about wha’ya go around sayin’ about my Guinevere. Got it?”

Edward nodded quickly.

“I won’t let her live in danger -- of any kind. You don’t feel ‘bout anyone the way I feel ‘bout her, and ya haven’t lived through what I’ve lived through, memories or no.” Major tightens his grip around Edward’s neck, voice dropping even lower, anger simmering in it. “Ya just don’t get it.”

The Major loosened his grip just enough for Edward to speak. Edward cleared his throat, voice somewhat hoarse as he spoke. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that,” Edward chokes out.

Behind him, he can hear Esme saying, “Jasper, please…”

“You shouldn’ve,” Major agreed, tightening his grip again. He could feel Edward’s panic rising. “What I _should_ do is tear yer head off, teach you a lesson on _respect._ Lucky for you,” he drawled, “I care ‘bout Esme and Carlisle. I respect ‘em, too, so yer head gets ta stay on today. Try this again, though, and we’ll see where bein’ a fool ends you up. Understand?”

“I understand,” Edward choked out.

Major nodded once, dropped the boy, and returned to his spot against the wall, arms behind his back. It took a few minutes for everyone to return to their seats. Edward had to lean against the wall for a moment, coughing, while the cracks on his neck healed. Carlisle was disappointed, but was wise enough not to say anything. What Jasper had done _was_ justified -- you didn’t go around saying things like that about other vampire’s mates, especially not ones like what Jasper had.

Finally, Alice spoke up. “Jazz.”

The Major looked over at her, lips pressed into a hard line.

“I know you want to protect us. And I know you love us. But I would really appreciate it if you didn’t try to kill Bella. First of all, Edward’s serious, and I don’t want you two fighting. Secondly, Guin would be _really_ upset, you know? And thirdly, she’s my friend. At least, she’s going to be.”

He paused, staring at her. “Alice?”

Edward was staring at her with shock.

“I’m going to love her someday, Jazz. Just like I love Guin. I’ll be very put out with you if you don’t let her be.”

Jasper stared at her, digested her words. She was right, of course. Guinevere _would_ be extremely upset if he killed her sister. And Alice would be upset too, it seemed. Finally, he sighed.

Fine. He wouldn’t kill the girl. Edward, on the other hand…

Alice let out a relieved breath, and Jasper felt it rush through her. “Ah, see? Bella’s not going to say anything. There’s nothing to worry about.”

Jasper frowned at the familiar way she said the girl’s name, but looked away.

“Alice,” Edward choked out. “What… does this…?”

“I told you there was a change coming. I don’t know, Edward.”

“What, Alice? What are you hiding?”

Emmett let out a grumble, and Jasper couldn’t help but agree with him. It could be frustrating when Alice and Edward had these kinds of conversations. Alice shook her head, resolutely.

“Is it about the girl?” Edward demanded. “Is it about Bella?” There was maybe a millisecond before Edward jumped onto his feet, the chair crashing to the floor behind him.

“Edward!” Carlisle cried, his hand on Edward’s shoulder, holding him in place.

“It’s solidifying,” Alice whispered. “Every minute you’re more decided. There’re really only two ways left for her. It’s one or the other, Edward.”

“No,” Edward whispered again, and Emmett looked annoyed.

“Will somebody _please_ let the rest of us in on the mystery?” he complained.

“I have to leave,” Edward whispered. Selfishly, Jasper wished he would.

“Edward, we’ve already been over that,” Emmett said loudly. “That’s the best way to start the girl talking. Besides, if you take off, we won't know for sure if she’s talking or not. You have to stay and deal with this.”

“I don’t see you going anywhere, Edward,” Alice told him. “I don’t know if you _can_ leave anymore.”

“I don’t hear that,” Edward said suddenly. Alice must have thought something to him. “Why are you doing this to me?” he groaned, dropping his head into his hands.

Then, a moment later, “Love her, _too?_ ” he whispered, incredulous. Jasper could feel all his warring emotions -- disbelief and despair mixed with smothered joy and _desire_ , desire for her and her blood.

“No,” he said, closing his eyes tightly. “I don’t have to follow that course. I’ll leave. I _will_ change the future.”

“You can try,” Alice replied, sounding skeptical.

Finally, Emmett had had enough. “Oh, _come on!_ ” he bellowed.

“Pay attention,” Rosalie hissed at him. “Alice sees him falling for a _human!_ How classically Edward!” She made a gagging sound.

Jasper let that one pass -- one: because it was making fun of Edward, and two: because Guinevere was different. She was an exception to the rule.

“What?” Emmett asked, startled. Then, he let out a booming laugh, throwing his head back. “Is _that_ what’s been going on?” He laughed again. “Tough break, Edward!”

“ _Fall_ for a human?” Esme repeated, stunned. “For the girl he saved today? Fall in _love_ with her?”

“What do you see, Alice? Exactly,” Jasper demanded. He had to know what the future held -- if it held Guinevere, or just her sister.

Alice turned toward him. “It all depends on whether he is strong enough or not. Either he’ll kill her himself--” she turned to glare at Edward, “which would _really_ irritate me, Edward, not to mention what it would do to you or Guin--” she turned back to Jasper. “or she’ll be one of us someday. Guin, too,” she added, sending him a reassuring look. “I see all three of us, together.”

Somebody gasped -- Esme, Jasper thinks, and he feels relief flood him.

Guinevere would be with them, vampires, together. Good.

“That’s not going to happen!” Edward shouted. “Either one!”

Alice continued. “It all depends,” she repeated. “He may be just strong enough not to kill her--but it will be close. It will take an amazing amount of control,” she mused. “More than even Carlisle has. He may be _just_ strong enough… The only thing he’s not strong enough to do is stay away from her. That’s a lost cause.”

Everyone was silent. The room was still.

Jasper was… wary. This could blow up in their faces, and put Guinevere in danger. He still felt the best course of action was the initial plan -- dispose of the girl, and eventually leave with Guinevere. He wouldn’t act on it, not now, but he would keep an eye on the situation.

After a long moment, Carlisle sighed. “Well, this… complicates things.”

“I’ll say,” Emmett agreed. His voice was close to laughter, and his humor flooded Jasper’s gift.

“I suppose the plans remain the same, though,” Carlisle said thoughtfully. “We’ll stay, and watch. Obviously, no one will… hurt the girl.”

Edward stiffened, and Jasper inclined his head some.

“No,” he said quietly, “I can agree to that. As long as Guinevere is safe, I’ll leave the girl alone. If Alice only sees two ways--”

“No!” Edward’s voice was some combination of a should, a growl, and a cry of despair. “No!”

Edward turned, and stalked out of the room. Esme tried to stop him, but sighed when he ignored her. Instead, she turned to Jasper. He could feel her caution, her hesitance.

He sent her a smile, and she smiled back, relieved. Jasper looked over to Carlisle, including his head. “I apologize... for my behavior earlier.”

“It was justified, Jasper. Edward should not have said that about Guin.”

“Doesn’t mean I should’ve lost my cool like that.”

Esme sighs at him, stepping forwards to take his hands. “Jasper, dear, your mate almost got killed today, she’s hurt, and you’re all the way on the other side of town. It’s perfectly understandable that you’d react like that when provoked.”

Jasper just smiled at her, and then she seemed to light up.

“Oh, Jasper! You _are_ going to see her, right?”

He just nodded. Esme pulled back, and ran into the kitchen. She came back out with a tupperware container of cookies. “Oh, you said she liked sweet things, and when Carlisle called me after she left the hospital, I baked these for her. You’ll take them to her, right?”

Jasper chuckled softly, taking the container from her grasp. “Of course, Esme.”

* * *

When Jasper finally got to the Swan residence, he had settled some. He could still feel the beast inside him pacing, snarling at it’s cage, but it seemed to have settled some since he let it loose on Edward. Jasper tried to soothe it more, reminding it that their mate was just inside, that they would see her soon. Guinevere didn’t need to see him with black eyes.

Chief Swan was downstairs, it sounded like -- Jasper could hear the TV playing. Bella was in her room, sleeping. His Guinevere was still awake, though. He could feel her emotions -- amusement, focus, longing, sleepiness, all underlined with a subtle, constant pain.

Her hip was bothering her, it seemed. He wondered if she had taken her medication.

He listened for a moment longer, watching the curtains at her window blow in the slight breeze. He could hear something playing. After a moment, he decided she must have been listening to some sort of audio book, although he was unsure of which one. Reaching down, he grabbed a pebble off the ground.

It took careful concentration, but he managed to knock the pebble onto the glass of her window hard enough for it to make a noise, but not so hard that it cracked the window glass. He heard the audiobook stop.

“It’s me, Guinevere. I’m coming up, okay?” he called out, loud enough for her to hear, but not loud enough to possibly wake up Bella.

“Yes!” she cried, trying to keep her voice down. He could feel the relief rushing through her like clean, cool water, and he let it fill him as he jumped up, grabbing onto the window ledge with his hands. Guinevere gasped sharply, startled, and he pulled himself inside easily, landing silently on the floor.

When he had straightened up, he smiled at her. She grinned back. “Hey there, darlin’.”

“Jasper! You took longer than I expected.”

“Sorry about that. We had a… family meeting.”

“Family meeting?” she asked, watching as he walked over to where she'd settled on the bed, sitting beside her. Then, she frowns at him. “You’re not in trouble with them because of what you did today, are you?”

“I’m not. Did you finally get your pizza rolls?” he asked

“You’re deflecting,” she pouted at him, and he smiled. Jasper pressed a kiss to her hair.

“I promise I’ll explain to you tonight. Just let me relax for a bit.”

She stared at him for a moment, before she sighed, agreeing. “Alright. And, for your information, I _did_ get my pizza rolls.”

Jasper grinned, and nodded at her work. “So, what are you making?”

“It’s a mockup for an 1860s chemise. I’ve got plans for a ballgown this summer, but wanted a new chemise.”

Jasper smiled a bit, leaning his head against hers. “You like the 1860s?” he asked softly.

“I mean, barring the whole “bloodbath Civil War” thing that happened in America that decade, yeah. I like it a lot -- 1850s and 1860s fashion are my favorite eras. I like the big hoop skirts and the laces and ruffles and bows, and the Bertha collars are my favorites.”

Jasper let out a hum, closing his eyes as he listened to her speak. He loved hearing her talk -- hearing the passion in her voice and feeling it, too, bubbling up and out of her. Guinevere felt things so strongly, they filled her up and overflowed and gushed out of her. Being around her overwhelmed him, in the best possible ways. It was easier, to ignore others' emotions and his own thirst when she was next to him, filling him up with her bubbly joy and crushing sorrow and her bright, giggling laughter.

“Honestly, the chemise probably didn’t need a mockup. It was easy to pattern draft, and it’s meant to be loose anyway, but the linen I’m using for it is really nice and my math skills are generally questionable. But now I wish I had cut the linen pieces, anyway,” she sighed. Disappointment bloomed in her chest, and he frowned, pulling away to look at her.

“Why?” Jasper asked, and Guinevere pouted up at him.

“Because now I can’t cut my linen out, since I can’t put weight on my hip. I don’t have a cutting table, so I usually crawl around on the floor in the kitchen to cut my pieces out. I don’t even want to think about crawling around right now,” she huffed.

Jasper chuckled a bit, tugging on a curl that escaped her braid. She pouted at him again.

“Don’t worry, darlin’. I’m sure Alice wouldn’t mind cutting them out for you. We can take them over to my house when you’ve finalized the pattern, yeah?”

“Oh, have we moved into meeting-the-parents territory? I didn’t think we'd had our second date.”

“I think,” he said, playfully, “that near-death experiences are good substitutes for second dates. Esme really wants to meet you -- she’s quite put out that you’ve met everyone but her. Speaking of Esme,” he said, producing a plastic container from the bag he had dropped beside the bed. “She sends you well wishes for your hip to heal nicely.”

Guinevere gasped when she opened the container. “Cookies!”

Jasper chuckled as she pulled one out, eyes glittering. “Oooh they’re white chocolate chip cookies, too.. Please tell your mom I said thank you!”

“I will.”

He looked around the room while Guinevere chowed down on cookies, standing up to inspect the different things. 

Her bed was messy, of course -- she had spent most of the afternoon in it. The pink duvet was covered by several other blankets, all piled atop one another, in every color of the rainbow. There was an ice pack resting beside her, and her sewing project draped across her lap. By the head of her bed, next to her elbow, was a stuffed animal. Jasper tilted his head a bit, amusement filling him. It was a red-and-white longhorn, although the horns were flopping a little and it seemed well worn. Guinevere looked over, following his gaze. Her expression lit up. “Oh!” she cried, “I’m sorry! This is Tucker,” she said, holding the toy out to him.

Jasper raised an eyebrow at her, and she wrinkled her nose at him, wiggling the toy a little bit. “C’mon, Jazz -- he’s very important to me.”

“Is he?” Jasper humored her. Her fake-pout was _very_ cute.

“Yes! He kept me company on the plane flight up here, and when I got my wisdom teeth out last January he was the one who kept me company when I was laying in bed delirious with pain. Actually, you know, I think there might’ve been some blood on him from that, your mouth gets all numb and weird and it's really hard to not just sort of… let all the blood and saliva fall out of your mouth and it’s really gross and oh my god I need to stop talking,” she groaned, burying her face into the stuffed animal’s ( _Tucker,_ his mind helpfully reminded) back.

Jasper laughed, stepping forwards to touch her blushing face. He sent her a fond smile when she peered up at him over the toy. “You’re cute, Guinevere.”

“Thanks,” she squeaked, “I feel like an idiot.”

Jasper just chuckled, and turned back around to keep looking around her room.

The wall across from the door was covered by a desk and a wardrobe. He paused, looking down at the things on her desk -- a laptop, a sketchbook and some coloring pencils, notebooks and journals. He liked the knickknacks, most; a small toy horse, a Pokemon figure, a statuette of a cat. A pin cushion, stabbed through with pins and needles, a few books balanced delicately on the edge. The wall above it was covered in photos -- pictures of her and Bella, and who he assumed was their mother and her new husband, of Guinevere and Chief Swan, all throughout her life. Pictures of Guinevere, in dresses from all kinds of eras -- one medieval, a few from the 18th century, several from the mid 19th. A few of her in Edwardian pieces, a few of her looking as though she was in the ‘40s, the ‘50s.

In all of them, she was smiling. He wanted to see her smile for the rest of eternity.

He moved on, looking towards the large rack of cubbies that took up most of the other wall. The part of the wall it didn’t take up was filled with a bookshelf, packed with books, video game cases, vinyls and CD cases, and magazines. The cubby had some books in it, too; sewing books, he assumed, from the titles.

Lingering over the bookshelf, he tugged out a particular paperback, glancing at the front. He turned to Guinevere, an amused eyebrow raised. “ _Dracula?_ ”

Guinevere sent him an embarrassed smile. “What can I say? I’m a fan of the classics. Dad and I have all the old monster movies downstairs.”

Jasper chuckles a bit, sliding the book back into place. Another book catches his attention, and he holds it up for her to see, an eyebrow raised. “ _Love Bites?_ ”

“Oh. My. God.” Guinevere’s face turns red again, and she covers her mouth. “Um, that was supposed to get put away.”

“Do you have a lot of, uh,” he glances at the back of the book, and looks up at her, eyebrows raised again, “vampire erotica?”

“It’s… not just vampires?” she squeaks, and Jasper laughs, dropping the book back on her bookshelf, looking back towards the cubbies.

Mostly, though, the cubby held fabric -- most of them in folded up cuts with tags, telling the fiber content and yardage. In a tall basket next to the cubbies sat all her bolts of fabric -- muslin and cotton and linens, all the things she’d bought bulk. One of the cubbies was filled with sewing supplies, and another filled with jars full of buttons. There were some zippers in a plastic box, and on the bottom, in one of the bigger cubbies, was a large basket, half pulled out and filled with scraps of fabric.

“Cabbage,” Guinevere offered helpfully, and Jasper turned to look at her, confused. She smiled, “‘Cabbage’ is the historical term for fabric scraps that are too small to be used for a garment, but too big to throw away. I use them for mockups, piecing or buttons or if I need just a bit of extra fabric for a project.”

Jasper nodded thoughtfully. He thought he remembered hearing the term before, but his memories of his human life were… vague. Her dress form was against the wall, next to a rocking chair with a blanket draped over the back. Behind the dress form was a mirror, although it was leaning with the face against the wall. The two side tables against her bed had two lamps on them. The left one -- closest to the door -- had a mug, a box of tissues and a bottle of medicine. Next to it were her crutches. There were two books on that one, too, as well as a little bag of sewing supplies, a pink Gameboy SP covered in stickers, and a CD player, connected to headphones. He walked over, tapping it with a finger.

“What were you listening to?”

“ _The Goblet of Fire._ ”

“Audiobook?” he asked, glancing over at her.

Guinevere nodded, happily. “Yes! The one narrated by Jim Dale. I have all of them -- all of the released ones, anyway. I get them when I buy the books.”

“You like audiobooks?”

“I work with my hands a lot,” Guinevere says. “I love to read, but it’s difficult to read when I’m stitching seams or drawing or cutting fabric. Audiobooks are my compromise.”

Jasper smiled a bit. “I’ll keep that in mind. You should let me read to you sometime,” he murmured, coming to sit beside her on the bed. Reaching out, he took her hand in his, and she put Tucker to the side, and squeezed his hand in hers, a frown on her face.

“Jasper, you’re acting strangely. What’s wrong?”

“I am scared to tell you the truth about me,” he says, slowly. “I’m worried I’ll scare you away.”

“What? It’s not like you’re a vampire or anything, right?” Guinevere jokes, and Jasper stares at her. Guinevere’s smile slowly slips away, and Jasper can feel her disbelief.

“...You’re joking, right? You have to be. Vampires aren’t real, they can’t be real.”

Jasper’s voice is soft. “They’re real, darlin’. How else do you explain what happened today?”

“Hysterical strength?”

“I was two cars away from you, Guinevere. If I were human, I wouldn’t have been able to get to you before that van crushed you. We both know that.”

“But… But… Vampires are just… impossible. That can’t be,” she said, slowly, but Jasper could see the gears turning in her head. “That’s… That’s why your sister is so cold, isn’t it? Why your eyes get dark sometimes, why you all seem so aloof compared to the other students, you’re avoiding them, right?”

Jasper nods slowly. Guinevere swallows.

“Okay. So. Let's say I believe you, that you’re vampires. What… would that entail?” she asked, slowly, and Jasper rubbed her knee beneath the blankets, staring down at the floral pattern on it.

“My family and I are different from others of our kind. Most vampires drink from humans -- our saliva is venomous, and if you’re bitten by one of us, you’ll either be killed or become a vampire yourself. We consider ourselves ‘vegetarians’, because we hunt animals instead of humans.”

“Oh, well that’s a funny piece of irony. Did Carlisle come up with that?”

“How did you know?”

“Seems like the kinda guy who’d appreciate some good dry humor.”

Jasper just shook his head at her, laughing a bit. “Carlisle was the first of us. Edward came after him — in 1918, and Esme came next, in 1921. Rosalie came in 1933, and Emmett not long after, in 1935. Alice and I joined in 1950 — we had met a few years earlier, in 1948.”

Guinevere paused, frowning a bit. “So.. you and Alice weren’t changed by Carlisle?”

“No,” he said, softly. “But that’s a story for another time.”

Guinevere just nodded. “So.. what about your biology, for lack of a better term?” Guinevere asked, and Jasper could feel the curiosity building in her. It took a moment for her to decide on a question to ask. “Are you allergic to garlic?”

Jasper chuckled. “No, no allergy to garlic. And, before you ask, crosses don’t bother us, we don’t sleep in coffins and we don’t have to take the soil of our homeland with us. We don’t sleep at all, in fact.”

“You don’t sleep at all?” Guinevere whispered, horrified.

Jasper shakes his head. “You get used to it, eventually. Find other ways to occupy yourself — for example, Emmett and I have a very complicated game of chess going on at the moment.”

Guinevere laughed. “Okay, so, you aren’t allergic to garlic, crosses aren’t useful at all, and you don’t sleep. What about sunlight? Does it burn you?”

“It does not. It does reveal we aren’t human, though.”

“What, does it make you look all disfigured and monstrous?”

Jasper’s lips twitch. “Edward would think so, but no. It, ah, makes us sparkle,” he said, embarrassment flooding him.

Guinevere stared at him. “I’m sorry?”

“It makes us sparkle, like diamonds.”

“Like… a disco ball?”

Jasper snorts. “Yeah, like a disco ball.”

“Okay, so, you can’t sleep, aren’t allergic to garlic or crosses, and you shine like a goddamn disco ball in sunlight. What else?”

“We’re supernaturally attractive, to lure our prey. Our beauty generally overrides the fear most humans feel around us. The perfect predator, you could say.”

“Okay, so you’re super hot to make people want to be around you. So you can, y’know, eat them.”

“Yes.”

“This is turning out to be more _Love Bites_ than it is _Dracula,_ ” she muttered, and Jasper laughed again. “Um… Can you like, eat human food?”

Jasper smiled wryly. “We can.”

“What... happens to it?”

“I’d assume it simply dissolves into nothing, thanks to the venom in our bodies. I wouldn’t know though — you can’t exactly do an autopsy on a vampire. Our skin can’t be penetrated by any mortal tool. The only thing that can harm us are others of our kind, and a few other supernatural creatures. We’re also inhumanly strong and fast,” he added, almost as an afterthought.

“Yes, I gathered as much myself. So you _can_ eat human food.”

“Many of us don’t. For most vampires, it is… repulsive. For some, it simply has no taste to it. I have met a few, however, who can taste it, and seem to enjoy it. Mostly, it’s very flavorful — generally spicy.”

“Interesting,” Guinevere said, slowly. “Is there… anything else I should know, or have we gone over the whole SparkNotes version?”

“Some of our kind have… gifts, for lack of a better term. Things we bring from our human lives that are enhanced in our vampirism.”

“Like what?”

“Alice can see the future, and Edward can read minds.”

“Sorry, he can _what?_ ”

Jasper’s lip twitched a bit. “Edward can read minds — it’s very frustrating for the rest of us. He’s no longer allowed to play chess against any of us, other than Alice.”

“And… Alice can see the future?”

“Subjectively — it all depends on the choices people make. And… I can feel people’s emotions, and manipulate them.”

“So, you’re an empath?”

“Essentially.”

“Jasper, that’s... That sounds horrible,” Guinevere whispers, horrified. “I can’t imagine how overwhelmed you must get, with all the people around you, feeling things, and… six other vampires, probably thirsting after the humans around you. That’s… awful.”

Jasper looks a little surprised. “Nobody’s ever thought of it that way before.”

Guinevere sends him a sad look. “That’s horrible. You must suffer so much…” she pauses for a moment, and he can feel her sudden regret and worry.

“What’s wrong, darlin’?”

“I don’t want to be mean, but... Do you… manipulate mine?” Guinevere asked, hesitantly.

“No. Not on purpose. Sometimes, I… slip. When I’m upset, it’s easy for me to lose control, and force my emotions on other people. I don’t do it purposely. Today, though, I… was more liberal with my gift than usual. You were about to have a panic attack, and I was already on the edge of losing it, and I knew if you panicked, I wouldn’t be able to control myself as well.”

Guinevere looked suddenly surprised. “Earlier, when we were talking to dad, I felt… anxiety consume me. As soon as I took your hand again, though, it calmed. Was that you?”

“Letting you leave my arms was terrifying after watching you almost die. My control over my gift slipped. I also believe you are… more susceptible to it, than others.”

“Why? Why were you so scared to let me go?”

“There is a myth our kind know of. We don’t have much of an overarching culture — it can be difficult when many covens are nomadic. However, this one has come up repeatedly. It’s… very rare. Most vampires don’t believe it exists.”

“What is it, Jasper?” Guinevere asked, hesitant.

“Some of us have something we call an _animae dilectae_ — our kind refer to it as a ‘soul match.’ It‘s rare enough that many of our kind don’t believe in it. Or maybe it’s not rare at all — and many have just been unlucky enough to never meet theirs. Since most of us don’t believe in it, we mate with whoever we fall in love with, and that’s the end of it.”

“And… do you believe in these soul matches?”

Jasper gazed at her, a soft fondness flooding him. “I do now.”

After a few moments, Guinevere let out a soft breath. “Oh. Am I..?”

“Yes,” Jasper breathed. “You are my _animae dilectae_ — my soul match.”

Guinevere was silent for a few moments, staring at the hand on her knee. “So…” she said, softly. “We’re fated to be together?”

“I can only assume so.”

She swallowed tightly, and tugged on his hand, pulling him up the bed to sit next to her. She curled up against his side, as best she could, considering it probably hurt to move her right leg. Jasper could feel relief flood him — if she wanted to be close to him, then she must not be _too_ scared.

“Is that why I feel so comfortable around you? Why I ache when you’re gone? Why I never want to be parted from you?”

“Yes. I feel it too,” he whispered, fiddling with a loose piece of her hair. “You are… everything to me. As soon as I saw you, I knew I’d love you one day. Even now, you are my heart, my soul— the thought of losing you is too painful to even consider. I believe that the… similarity in our souls makes you more susceptible to my power, even when I’m not trying to use it on you.”

“We… We’ve known each other a week, Jasper. It can’t be… natural, to feel this way so suddenly.”

Jasper pulled her closer to him, and pressed a kiss into her hair. “There is nothing in this world more natural than you and I together, Guinevere.”

She paused, and closed her eyes. She let her head rest against his chest. “I feel like… I should be more scared. I’m not, though— all I feel is content, even now, because I’m by your side.”

“Nothing has to happen now,” Jasper assured her. “We can take our time. We don’t have to suddenly jump into a relationship. There’s no rush.”

They sat in silence for several minutes, before Jasper pressed another kiss to her hair, breathing in her scent. “You should take some more painkillers and rest, Guinevere. Rest helps with healing.”

Guinevere huffed against him some, and he pulled away from her. He collected her mockup, storing it and the needle, along with her container of pins, on her desk. While he was up, Guinevere had taken one of her pills, settling back down into bed. She watched him as he made sure everything was put away.

“Stay?” she asked, softly, and Jasper looked at her, surprised. But he nodded.

“Of course.”

“Lay with me?” she asked again, extending her hand to him. He took it, and settled himself behind her on the bed, pressing against her back as she laid on her good side. She reached forward and turned off the bedside lamp.

Jasper pressed his lips to the back of her neck. She shuddered some, and he could feel the desire flood her.

“Don’t,” he growled a little.

“Don’t kiss my neck then!”

He huffed a bit, but settled against her again, draping one arm across her waist. “I’ll be gone when you wake,” he murmured.

“I know,” she sighed.

“I’ll come visit after school. I promise.”

“Promise?” Guinevere hummed sleepily, and Jasper nodded against her shoulder. Jasper felt so content — the beast inside him had settled, purring, once again pleased that it’s mate was back in it’s arms. Jasper returned that sentiment — and felt himself let out a rumbling purr. He could feel Guinevere slump beneath him, and he let his eyes close.

He purred all night long.


End file.
